Bus Aide Slapped, Molested Pre-K Student, Mom Says

LAKE IN THE HILLS, IL -- A local mom is speaking out, saying a male bus aide within District 158 touched her 4-year-old daughter inappropriately and slapped her in the face, according to media reports. Rosa White said her daughter, who is a special-needs student, attends preschool at Chesak Elementary School in Lake in the Hills. The incident occurred about two weeks ago when the young girl was being dropped off at daycare, the Daily Herald reports.

"She is traumatized," White told the Daily Herald.

The girl reported the incident to her daycare teacher, telling the teacher the bus aide molested her and hit her in the face, WGN News is reporting. School officials said the incident on the bus was captured on a video recording and that information was shared with the girl's parent.

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While White not yet seen the video recording, she told WGN school officials said the video shows her daughter being fondled and hit in the face. The girl told her mother the bus aide would take off a harness the girl wore while riding the bus and "touch me there."

White said she wants to share the incident with others so parents are aware.

“A lot of these kids are Special Ed and some of them can’t talk. What if he did the same thing to them and they can’t tell their parents?” White told WGN News.

Over the weekend, after receiving several calls from concerned parents within District 158 regarding the incident, school officials released a statement. Superintendent John Burkey said the male employee no longer has contact with students.

The incident, school officials said, was isolated to one student on the bus, and the video recording gave police a "clear record of what did and what did not happen," Burkey said.

While school officials could not comment on any specifics regarding the "ongoing police investigation," Burkey said the "incident is not indicative of a larger concern for student safety."

The Lake in the Hills Police Department is investigating the incident.

More via WGN News and the Daily Herald

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