A former Montgomery County Public Schools bus driver was sentenced to 11 months in prison on Wednesday for sex offense charges stemming from his inappropriate touching of two students on his bus.
Salvador Rodriguez, 60, was arrested last March and charged with sexually abusing two students who attended Rock View Elementary School in Kensington.
Judge Terrence McGann issued the sentence in Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville on Wednesday. After his release, Rodriguez will serve five years of probation.
Montgomery County police began investigating Rodriguez in February 2017 for incidents involving then-11-year-old girls on his bus.
According to court documents, Rodriguez, of the 11600 block of Connecticut Avenue in Silver Spring, was the daily bus driver for both girls when he touched them inappropriately over their clothes. One girl told police he had touched her three times on separate days, and the other student said he had touched her once.
He was charged in March with two counts of sexual abuse of a minor, four counts of third-degree sex offense and four counts of fourth-degree sex offense by a person in a position of authority, according to court records. He was released March 3 on $25,000 bail.
In April, Rodriguez was indicted on two charges of sexual abuse of a minor and four charges of third-degree sex offense. According to court records, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to two counts of a third-degree sex offense in February.
Before the sentencing, prosecutors showed video footage of Rodriguez standing on a bus, hugging and touching female students as he walked by, NBC4 reported. He did not touch the boys.
Rodriguez was hired by MCPS in May 2006 and drove routes for Rockview Elementary, Newport Mill Middle School and Albert Einstein High School, all in Kensington.
At the time of Rodriquez's arrest, Rock View Principal Kristine Alexander wrote in a letter to parents that the allegations were "disturbing and completely unacceptable."
“They represent a serious breach of trust, responsibility, integrity and the law,” she wrote. “This behavior does not reflect the principles and values of MCPS on our community, and it will not be tolerated.”
On Wednesday, McGann also ordered that Rodriguez register as a lifetime sex offender and not have unsupervised contact with minors.
“This sentence sends a strong message that people in positions of trust must not violate that trust,” Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for the State’s Attorney’s Office, said in a statement. “We endeavor to keep our kids safe in school, on the streets, in our homes and on the school bus. Mr. Rodriguez will have time to think about his transgressions against these innocent 11-year-old girls.”
David Moyse, Rodriguez's attorney, was not immediately available for comment.
