7-Year-Old Assaulted On School Bus In PG County: Police

LARGO, MD -- A school bus aide has been arrested after allegedly assaulting a 7-year-old boy on a school bus last week, and bus transportation officials initially called 911 on the child, police say.

Police arrested 22-year-old DeQuan Brooks of Laurel. Prince George's County Public School Security provided police with video of Brooks "sitting in a seat next to a 7-year-old boy when he grabs the child and shoves him into several seats while he assaults the child about the head and neck," according to a report from the Prince George's County Police Department.

First-grade students were en route to the Foundation School in Largo on Thursday when the alleged assault happened. Bus transportation officials called 911 to report a disorderly student on the bus at 8:45 a.m., about 20 minutes after the incident, police say.

"PGPD patrol officers responded to the bus where it had stopped at Annapolis and Bell Station roads," the report states. "Once on scene, our officers were advised by the three adults on the bus that a student had been acting out and had attempted to throw Brooks' cellphone out of a window. Officers found no evidence to support the allegation against the student.

"Our officers were never informed that a student had been physically assaulted by Brooks," the report continues. "It wasn't until the following evening on Friday, June 8th, when school security provided the surveillance video that we learned about the assault and launched this investigation. We made contact with the victim and his parent who had been told earlier that their child had acted up on the bus ride to school Thursday morning. We advised the parent of our investigation that their child had been assaulted and advised that the child be seen by a doctor. The child did have bruising on his neck."

Brooks is being held without bond. The investigation continues into the incident, and police have asked anyone with information to contact them.

Image via PGPD