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Whisper

#byefelicia
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ASHTABULA, Ohio - Ashtabula Area City School officials allowed a bus driver accused of raping young girls to stay on the job, even after he was reprimanded for his behavior with young girls, according to records obtained by NewsChannel5 investigators.
School records show Virgil Murphy, 56, received a written reprimand May 5 for “stopping and buying food itemsâ€￾ for two girls. The reprimand, signed by Joe Allen, the district’s transportation supervisor, said Murphy was spoken to “three times about giving gifts, money and buying treats and giftsâ€￾ for students and was told to "stop doing this."
"I was outraged," said Molly Bartlett, when she learned about Murphy's disciplinary history.
Bartlett is an Ashtabula resident whose son and daughter were passengers on Murphy's bus.
She complained to school officials in November after watching Murphy hug little girls on his bus and interact with her daughter.
"He had too close of a relationship with my 8-year-old daughter. It was just... Creepy. Very creepy," she said.
School officials suspended Murphy without pay after he was arrested Dec. 9 on 15 felony sex abuse charges involving three young girls.
Police said Murphy met two of the girls on his bus. A few weeks before his arrest, Murphy was put on paid administrative leave after Bartlett and another mother complained about his behavior to the district's assistant superintendent.
In a letter to school officials, the other students' mother wrote she was concerned that Murphy has her children “sit up front by him," gives them gum and “asks them not to say anything to anyone.â€￾
Bartlett said some school officials initially brushed off her complaints.
"It's like everybody just let it go, you know, and had we not had gone and done something about it, who knows... that could have been my daughter that something happened to," she said.
School records also show Murphy was hired to drive a school bus in 2005, even though a criminal background check showed he was convicted of domestic violence and resisting arrest in Painesville Municipal Court in 1995.
Jason Fairchild, the district’s attorney, said the convictions did not “disqualifyâ€￾ Murphy from becoming a bus driver.
NewsChannel5’s Dan Haggerty interviewed Murphy's grandson, Brandon, who said he grandfather is innocent.
"He just thinks that he's not getting treated fairly," said Brandon Murphy. "You find a lot of people that get charged with something, but that doesn't mean it's true."
Murphy plead not guilty to the felony charges against him and is out of jail on $50,000 bond.
[...]
Statement from school board
First, I want to assure the members of our community that the safety of our children is paramount, whether they are in our school buildings or being transported on our busses. To that end, surveillance equipment has been installed and is regularly utilized in our buildings and school buses to ensure our children’s safety. Furthermore, our staff is periodically trained to monitor and report any incidents of violations of the Board’s rules and policies for student safety.

I want to take this opportunity to affirm that any complaints involving Virgil Murphy which have been received by me have been promptly and thoroughly investigated, and, whenever appropriate, discipline has been administered to the extent permitted by the law. Recently, as a result of some parental complaints presented to my office, Virgil Murphy was placed on administrative leave and removed from his bus driving duties. This took place on November 22, 2011, which was prior to Mr. Murphy’s secret indictment. On December 9, 2011, Mr. Murphy was arraigned for criminal charges involving alleged misconduct which took place between January 1, 2009 and September 7, 2010. As a result of his indictment, Mr. Murphy was immediately suspended from his employment without pay, for an indefinite period.

In closing, I would like to assure the community that I and my staff have done everything in our power to keep our children safe and we will steadfastly strive to continue to do so
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http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/lo...inst-bus-driver-accused-of-rape#ixzz1kazYgMZk
 
Heads would roll. The fury I feel reading this story is nothing compared to what would happen if it were my kid in the situation. I seriously want to shank whoever wrote the trite statement from the school board. Unfuckingbelievable.
 
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