Bus chaperone kept working at school during months-long police investigation into alleged child sexual abuse

The girl’s mother said she was ‘in disbelief’ when she heard the chaperone was still working on the school bus during the investigation. Illustration: Victoria Hart/Guardian Design

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.