Mother considers moving after daughter targeted in sexual offence on school bus

Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter

A south Wales mum has said she has considered moving after her daughter was the victim of a sexual offence on a bus travelling to school. 

The youngster had been on the bus when an adult male passenger is alleged to have performed a sex act under his trousers after starting a conversation with children on their way to secondary school. 

The mum, who cannot be named to protect her daughter’s identity, said: “I just burst into tears when I got the call from the school.” 

Gwent Police said it is seeking a 61-year-old man, from Newport, previously arrested in November, on suspicion of engaging in sexual activity in front of children, following a report he had breached bail conditions. 

The mum said she had felt guilty over putting her daughter on the bus to school and had considered moving as a result to avoid her having to make the bus journey again. 

“I feel like I was the one who put her in danger and I’ve thought about moving, and putting my house up for sale, so she could walk to school.” 

Public bus 

The girl had boarded the public bus with other children on their way to school when the man started making conversation with them. 

“The man had got on the bus and had been drinking and was high and was a nuisance and started making conversation and asking the children whether they’d been drinking and said drinking and drugs were more fun than school,” said the mum explaining what her daughter had told her. 

“He also offered them sweets and said they should come to Chepstow Racecourse with him for a pint and then started being a bit more aggressive and my daughter became more uncomfortable and he took a bite of one girl’s chocolate bar.” 

Though some of the children had moved to the top deck of the bus the woman said her daughter had remained on bottom deck as she would have felt “trapped” on the upper deck. 

Some boys on the bus noticed the man was making her feel uncomfortable, said the mum, and attempted to stand between them. At that point the man continued trying to make conversation and appeared to perform a sex act on himself, though he wasn’t exposed, and had his hands down his trousers. 

He then got off the bus at Chepstow bus station and appeared to relieve himself in a bush. 

Response from teachers

The mum praised the “phenomenal” response of teachers at her daughter’s school but has since sought to raise concerns over safety of children travelling to school by public bus with Monmouthshire County Council. 

The council uses public buses as home to school transport for some secondary school pupils but the girl was travelling as a paying passenger rather than her transport having been arranged by the council. 

Her mum said she while she is willing to pay for transport she would like the council to consider providing a dedicated child only bus for pupils who don’t qualify for home to school transport or allow parents to pay for vacant seats on school buses. She also said she has been concerned about overcrowding on the buses that, she said, are well used by school children. 

The girl has now returned to using the bus, since the incident in November, and her mum said: “We made the decision and she was comfortable to go back on the bus and I would not want her living her life not being able to go on a bus.” 

Police response 

Gwent Police said: “We received a report of a man engaging in sexual activity in front of children on a bus heading towards Chepstow at around 8am on Wednesday,  November 26. 

“Officers took a number of statements from children who were on the bus. 

“A 61-year-old man from Newport was later arrested on suspicion of the above offence, and was released on conditional bail as enquiries continue. 

“We’ve since received a report that this person has not complied with their bail conditions and arrest enquiries are ongoing to locate him.” 

Monmouthshire County Council said it was “aware of the distressing incident” and had liaised with the bus operator. 

A spokesman said: “We take the safety of all our learners on home to school transport extremely seriously.  None of the children who Monmouthshire County Counil provides school transport for are allocated to this route. 

“Students are eligible for home to school transport to their nearest or catchment secondary school if it is more than three miles walking distance away from their home. In this instance it wasn’t their nearest or catchment school and consequently transport is not provided.”