Prosecutors add new charges against CCSD bus driver
Prosecutors said Thursday that they’re pursuing more than 20 additional charges against a veteran Clark County School District special education bus driver accused of sexually assaulting “very small children.”
Michael Banco, 55, was initially arrested on 19 felony counts, and prosecutors told a judge Thursday the total is now 41 in light of discover of at least one more victim. The charges include sexual assault against a child under the age of 14, lewdness with a child under the age of 14, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree child abuse or neglect.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Sam Martinez detailed one of the incidents he said was caught on bus surveillance cameras in which he said Banco can be seen molesting and assaulting a 3-year-old child with special needs.
In court, Banco waived a preliminary hearing on the charges, his defense attorney Robert Draskovich said, because he “didn’t want to put the families through any additional trauma.”
A parent of a student on Banco’s route first tipped authorities about “inappropriate conduct by a bus driver,” police said.
On three separate days a surveillance camera recorded images of Banco molesting and assaulting “very small” children in the back of a bus before dropping them off at home after school, police said.
Banco, a bus driver for special education children who according to Transparent Nevada has been with CCSD since 1995, was responsible for 20 students on his route throughout the Las Vegas Valley.
As of Thursday, his status with the school district was “unpaid suspension pending dismissal,” according to a spokeswoman.
Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker
