A school bus chaperone who allegedly sexually assaulted a nonverbal child continued working with students for months during the subsequent Victorian police investigation, prompting an apology to the girl’s mother from the state’s education department.
The allegation was denied by the chaperone and did not lead to charges. But Victoria’s education department apologised to the mother last year for failing to implement risk mitigation strategies during the police investigation.
The apology came after an investigation by the state’s child safety watchdog – the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) – which said the conduct of the school’s principal and assistant principal in response to the allegations “amounted to neglect” of their students’ safety.
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Months after making her report to police – and after discovering the chaperone was still doing work at the school – Beth* saw a photo, seen by Guardian Australia, showing her daughter standing next to him at the school.
“My heart sunk. I couldn’t believe that they allowed him access to her,” she said.
Beth told Guardian Australia her daughter, who was 11 at the time, disclosed the alleged sexual assault several years ago. When she was dropped off by the school bus that afternoon, Beth said she noticed her daughter’s pants were sitting low and her underwear was visible.
Beth said she immediately rang the school principal to alert her. She said the principal told her to contact police if she believed something had happened. Beth later reported the alleged incident to her local police station. Her daughter was interviewed by Victoria’s police’s sexual offences and child abuse investigations team (Socit) six days later, using gestures, according to a transcript seen by Guardian Australia.
But for months during the police investigation, the chaperone remained working on the bus and on the school grounds. The buses transport the school’s students to and from the campus each day.
Beth said she was “in disbelief” when she heard the chaperone was still working on the bus while the investigation was ongoing. She said she first learned of this during a conversation with the school’s assistant principal, who she said asked if she wanted her daughter to resume travelling on the bus.
“It felt like [the school] weren’t taking it seriously, and that they didn’t believe that this thing had happened, because they were so willing to just put her back on to the same bus with the same person that she’s accused of doing these things,” Beth said.
More than eight months into the criminal investigation, a Victoria police officer with Socit told Beth the chaperone was employed by the bus company and the “school has no say in that”.
In correspondence seen by Guardian Australia, the senior constable said the chaperone was assisting with “minor maintenance works” at the school, which had since ceased.
The constable reminded the mother the chaperone had not been charged with any offences and was presumed innocent under the law.
At the time, a police investigation into abuse allegations was not enough prevent a person from having a valid working with children check – although new Victorian laws to allow such suspension have since been passed.
Beth said a detective called her 14 months after she first reported the allegation, to inform her the investigation had been closed.
Years later, Beth received a letter from the then department of education secretary, Jenny Atta, expressing “sincere apologies that the school did not adequately or appropriately respond” when she reported that the bus chaperone allegedly sexually assaulted her daughter.
“I apologise that the school and the department failed to implement adequate risk mitigation strategies while the allegation was being actively investigated by Victoria police,” the letter seen by Guardian Australia said.
Atta said the department also accepted the outcomes of the CCYP investigation, including that the conduct of the school principal and assistant principal “amounted to neglect”.
She also apologised for the department’s own internal review, which found the school met child safe standards, saying it “failed to identify the inadequacies of the school and department’s responses”.
Atta said the department had implemented changes since the allegation, including increased resourcing to help schools to respond to sexual harm allegations and a dedicated team to advise principals on immediate next steps such as contact with police.
A department spokesperson said it had apologised to the family for how the alleged incident was managed.
“Every child deserves to feel safe at school, including travelling to and from school, and any form of violence against children is not tolerated,” they said.
“We treat all allegations seriously and address all incidents with appropriate and proportionate consequences – including supporting families to make reports to police where appropriate.”
In response to the matter, the department had undertaken a “comprehensive review” of its safeguarding policies and procedures, the spokesperson said.
*Names have been changed for legal reasons
In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helpline International
