Rock View Principal Addresses Bus Driver Charged With Sexual Assault

KENSINGTON, MD — The principal of Rock View Elementary School recently addressed the charges of a longtime Kensington school bus driver accused of sexually assaulting two 11-year-old female students.

Principal Kristine Alexander called the allegations "disturbing" and "completely unacceptable" in a letter she sent home to parents, according to WTOP.

On March 3, Montgomery County Police announced the arrest of Salvador Rodriguez, 59, of North Kensington.

Rodriguez was accused of sexually assaulting two female students during his bus routes, police said. Rodriguez's bus routes included Rock View Elementary School, Newport Mill Middle School and Albert Einstein High School in Kensington.

Alexander said the school is bringing in a support team of school psychologists, counselors and pupil personnel workers from MCPS for students to speak with on Monday.

In her letter, Alexander said the allegations "represent a serious breach of trust, responsibility, integrity and the law."

See Related: Two 11-Year-Old Kensington Students Abused By School Bus Driver: Police

"This behavior does not reflect the principles and values of MCPS or our community, and it will not be tolerated," she wrote.

Through the course of an investigation by Special Victims Investigations Division detectives, it was learned that on three separate occasions, Rodriguez allegedly had inappropriate sexual contact with one victim while she was a passenger on the school bus, police said.

Detectives further determined that on a separate occasion, Rodriguez had inappropriate sexual contact with a second victim while she was a passenger on the school bus, police told Patch.

Rodriguez was charged with two counts of sexual abuse of a minor, two counts of third-degree sex offense and two counts of fourth-degree sex offense by a person in a position of authority, police said.

Montgomery County Public Schools has been fully cooperating with Child Protective Services, the police and the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office on this matter, Alexander said.

The Montgomery County Public Schools system immediately placed Rodriguez on administrative leave as soon as they learned of the allegations in February 2017.

The school cannot share any more details broadly with the community due to the ongoing investigation, Alexander said.

Read the full letter on WTOP here.

During a police interview, Rodriguez admitted to having inappropriate contact with the victims, police said.

Detectives are requesting that parents of students who rode a school bus driven by Rodriguez to talk to their children about their interactions with him and contact SVID detectives at 240-773-5400 if they believe their child was victimized.

Photo: Montgomery County Police Department