A school bus driver for the Newton, Massachusetts, school system has been indicted on three counts of kidnapping related to incidents in May where he brought three children between the ages of 3 and 5 to secluded areas and turned off the audio and video recording in his bus.
Justin Vose, 42, of Bedford, was indicted this week by a Middlesex County Grand Jury based on allegations of inappropriate conduct while he was working as a bus driver for the Newton Early Education Childhood Program and Newton Public Schools contracted through JCS Transportation, according to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.
The district attorney's office said the Newton Early Education Childhood Program and Newton Public Schools notified Newton police of suspicious activity by Vose, one of their contracted bus drivers, on May 28 after one of the students was dropped off late at daycare.
When the bus company checked the driver's GPS location, it allegedly revealed that Vose entered the parking lot but instead of dropping the child off, he drove to a secluded portion of the parking lot near the tree line. A subsequent investigation revealed that, on multiple occasions, Vose had transported three children between the ages of 3 and 5 to secluded areas and turned off the audio and video recording in his bus for up to 20 minutes at a time without authorization from the school district, the children's parents or the bus company. A search of Vose's phone also revealed that he had taken photos with the children.
All of the children involved are semi-nonverbal or struggle with communication, according to the district attorney's office.
Vose is scheduled to be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn on Oct. 25, at 9:30 a.m.
Newton Public Schools released a statement saying that Vose passed required background checks, but that when the allegations were made, the district asked their transportation provider to place him on leave. Rad the full statement below:
Ensuring the safety and well-being of our students is the top priority of the Newton Public Schools.
Our contracted transportation vendors conduct thorough background checks on all applicants before finalizing employment and the driver noted in this situation passed all checks and had no history of prior incidents, as far as we know. As soon as allegations surfaced, in May 2024, regarding a driver deviating from standard routes and procedures, the district followed protocol and asked the transportation vendor to place the individual on leave while legal proceedings took place. Based on information provided by law enforcement, the Middlesex District Attorney has decided to formally press charges regarding the driver’s behavior at that time.
Our focus remains on providing caring support to our students and families. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all members of our school community and want to emphasize that situations like this are not a regular occurrence. Our tracking routines allowed us to successfully hold this individual accountable.
