An 18-year-old Elbert County student is facing a lengthy list of charges after authorities say two younger students were sexually assaulted on separate occasions while riding the same school bus. The arrest followed a report from the Elbert County School District flagging two possible misconduct incidents involving students on the bus.
According to the CBS News Atlanta report, the Elbert County Sheriff's Office says it was notified by the school district on Tuesday about two incidents of possible sexual misconduct. Officials say the 18-year-old sexually assaulted two juvenile students on multiple occasions aboard school bus Route 45S, and deputies arrested the student in connection with the case.
Court records cited by WSB-TV show the Elbert County School District notified deputies on Oct. 20 about the two incidents, which the outlet reports happened on separate occasions while the victims were being transported on the route. The student was arrested and charged with two counts each of first-degree cruelty to children and false imprisonment, per the station's reporting.
Additional Charges Include Aggravated Molestation and Sodomy Counts
The charges extend well beyond those counts. Fox 5 Atlanta reports the student also faces one count each of aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy and child molestation, in addition to the cruelty and false imprisonment charges detailed by the same report. Deputies have also charged the student with two counts of second-degree cruelty to children, according to the seed reporting from CBS News Atlanta.
Officials have notified the victims' families, and the sheriff's office says the case remains under investigation. Neither the suspect's name nor the identities of the victims have been released by investigators, and no additional details about the children involved have been made public.
School and Victim Identities Remain Undisclosed
Investigators have not identified which school the suspect or the alleged victims attended, according to the same Fox 5 Atlanta account. WJCL reports that the student's name was not released and that the investigation remains active, with authorities declining to share further information at this stage.
The case echoes other school transportation misconduct cases that have surfaced in Georgia in recent years. In one earlier case, a former Hall County school bus driver accused of sexually abusing three children saw a jury reach a verdict in about 90 minutes, according to the Gainesville Times. No comparison between that case and the current Elbert County investigation has been drawn by authorities.
For now, the Elbert County Sheriff's Office has not released further information on the suspect, the school involved, or the status of the charges beyond what has already been confirmed. Authorities say the investigation is ongoing.
