In 2024, a warning was issued to all school bus drivers in response to growing reports of misconduct.
PHILIPSBURG--Nearly two years after a complaint was first filed, the Court of First Instance on Thursday convicted former school bus driver Charles Fredericks of grooming a minor, finding him guilty of engaging in sexually explicit online conversations with a student and attempting to arrange a meeting.
The case, which dates back to September 2023, was based on a police complaint supported by WhatsApp conversations of a sexual nature between the suspect and the victim. After an extended investigation and trial process, the court ruled that there was sufficient evidence to prove grooming. The defendant’s claim that his phone had been stolen during the same period was found not credible.
A second complainant accused C.F. of making inappropriate sexual remarks and touching her knee while on the school bus. The court acquitted him of that charge, noting that the complainant had turned sixteen the week the alleged incident occurred, meaning it did not meet the legal threshold for “sexual acts with a minor under sixteen.”
The Prosecutor’s Office requested a sentence of 120 hours of community service, a three-month suspended prison term with a three-year probation period, and a five-year professional ban prohibiting the defendant from working in any position involving contact with minors.
While the court followed most of the prosecution’s recommendation, it declined to impose the professional ban, leaving the former driver legally eligible to seek future employment involving minors—though such positions typically require background screening.
The ruling comes more than a year after former acting Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Lyndon Lewis issued a public warning to all school bus drivers in response to growing reports of misconduct.
On June 12, 2024, Minister Lewis addressed what he described as “troubling reports” of sexual harassment involving school bus drivers, saying: “Predatory conduct will not be tolerated. Maintain the highest standards of professionalism and ethics while performing your duties—or face the consequences.”
Lewis revealed that within a few weeks of taking office, he had already received three complaints, including one in which a bus driver allegedly took a student into an alley.
The Prosecutor’s Office reiterated Thursday that the conviction underscores the need to protect children in environments where they should feel safe—especially in school transportation—and highlighted the importance of timely judicial handling in cases involving minors and sexual misconduct.
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/court-convicts-former-bus-driver-of-grooming-minor-after-two-year-wait
