Girl testifies Coast bus driver made her feel ‘special,’ gave her candy before sexual assaults
For 23 days straight, a second-grader at Oak Park Elementary said Ocean Springs school bus driver Sergio Sandoval sexually assaulted her.
She said Sandoval touched her private parts every time she got on the school bus from mid-September to early October 2014.
Sandoval had named her a bus monitor, given her candy, and allowed her to walk around despite the policy that students should remain seated while the bus is moving.
All of it made it her feel “special,” she said.
When the alleged assault began in September 2014, she said, Sandoval at first touched her private parts over her clothes, but that changed the last time it happened in early October 2014.
That’s when, she recalled Sandoval calling her up to the front of the bus, unzipping her pants, licking his fingers and shoving his hand down her pants and beneath her panties. Afterward, she said, Sandoval pulled his hands out of her pants and licked his fingers again.
After that last encounter, she said, “He said he’ll do it again when I’m ready, but I’m not ready.”
The following day, Sandoval gave the girl an outstanding achievement award for being a “good rider,” but the girl said it made her “feel bad” because she felt like “I didn’t deserve it.”
That same night, the girl went home to her father and told him what happened. They reported it to Ocean Springs police the same night.
Since the alleged crimes occurred, the child has moved forward with her life, maintaining her good grades and pursuing extracurricular activities.
In other testimony, another student who rode the bus said he saw Sandoval put his arm around the victim and touch her. He also knew Sandoval treated her differently, giving her candy and allowing her to walk around the bus when it was moving.
A second student who rode the same bus said the victim eventually confided in her that Sandoval had been touching her “private parts” and that “she didn’t like it.”
A Jackson County jury also reviewed surveillance video showing the alleged victim being called to the front of the bus on various occasions.
District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath and Justin Lovorn rested their case after hearing witnesses Tuesday morning and afternoon.
Defense attorney Jim Davis is representing Sandoval.
Sandoval said he spoke with his wife and decided not to testify.
Davis had the Ocean Springs school bus where the alleged crimes occurred brought to the Jackson County courthouse for the jury to tour before he rested his case.
Closing arguments begin Wednesday morning.
Sandoval is on trial on four counts of touching of a child for lustful purposes and one count of sexual battery. If convicted, the 69-year-old could go to prison for life.
This story was originally published November 20, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
