ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Parents of children at a Lake County school where a bus monitor allegedly abused children said they had complained about the man before officials got involved.
Deputies said James Brunson was caught on camera grabbing students' faces, making them cry and put at least one child in a headlock.
He was arrested last week on 32 counts of child abuse against the four children ranging in age from seven to nine years old, deputies said.
A mother of one of the children, who asked not to be identified, said she and other parents complained about Brunson and school officials did nothing.
“(He) was grabbing his head and twisting it. Had him in a headlock,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
The district did not have any evidence of the complaints.
It reports Brunson was moved to the Sorrento route in the spring after a different bus monitor had to be removed.
The district has him taken off the bus after learning of the investigation.
Brunson resigned June 5.
He was placed in an office setting away from children before he resigned.
Cox Media Group
