#New York bus driver charged with raping student passenger

A bus driver on Long Island, New York, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of kidnapping and raping a female student passenger, prosecutors said Monday.

Giovanny Campos, 50, also known as Giovanny Guzman, allegedly sexually assaulted the student from Valley Stream repeatedly from January to July, both on his bus and at his apartment in Queens, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said.

A grand jury indicted Campos on charges of second-degree kidnapping, third-degree rape, two counts of a third-degree criminal sex act and reckless endangerment, prosecutors said.

Campos pleaded not guilty Thursday, and his bail was set at $150,000 cash, $300,000 bond and $1.25 million partially secured bond, prosecutors said.

If he is convicted, Campos could face 25 years in prison, prosecutors said.

“School bus drivers are trusted to transport and protect our children, but this defendant allegedly preyed on a teenage student and sexually abused her both on his bus and at his apartment in Queens,” Donnelly said.

An attorney from the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, which represents Campos, according to court documents, could not be reached for comment.

Campos was arrested Sept. 28 by Nassau County police’s Special Victims Squad, prosecutors said.

Campos, who was employed by the Cheese Bus company, drove a route from Central High School to North High School in Valley Stream, prosecutors said. The distance is roughly 3 miles.

“The defendant raped the child multiple times, including in a parking lot while still on the bus,” prosecutors said. “The defendant also transported the teenager to his apartment in Jamaica, Queens, to engage in sexual acts with her.”

Representatives for Cheese Bus Inc. could not be reached for comment.