KC-area school bus driver arrested for sex crimes, second employee this year
A second Independence School District employee has been arrested on charges related to child sex crimes this school year.
Christopher Omenski, a bus driver with the Independence School district, was charged Tuesday with six felonies, including statutory rape, statutory sodomy and possession of child pornography. Omenski, 38, who is based in Oak Grove, was arrested Tuesday after he was detained during a traffic stop, according to the Oak Grove Police Department.
The Independence School District declined to confirm the driver’s identity as Omenski on Wednesday. However, Omenski’s LinkedIn profile identifies him as an ISD bus driver.
In a letter to ISD families, a district spokesperson said Wednesday that no current or former ISD students are connected to the investigation against the bus driver, and the alleged criminal behaviors did not take place in Independence. The district also confirmed that the driver had been placed on administrative leave as of Wednesday.
Officers with the Oak Grove Police Department began investigating Omenski after receiving an online tip on April 10 through the Internet Crimes against Children Data System, the department said in a Wednesday news release. The tip followed a video Omenski allegedly uploaded on February 17 that portrayed a man engaging in sexual acts with a young girl.
According to court documents, Omenski allegedly told investigators that he has been using the messaging app Kik to engage in roleplay depicting sexual relationships between adults and children. Omenski allegedly received folders of child pornography through Kik and through Telegram, another media sharing app, court documents read.
After searching Omenski’s phone, investigators uncovered additional videos depicting forced sexual acts between a young girl and a man Omenski identified as himself, according to court documents. Police made contact with the victim, who told interviewers at the Child Protection Center that Omenski had forced her to engage in various sexual acts every two to three days for an extended period of time.
The victim alleged that the most recent assault occurred Monday, and that Omenski had consistently threatened her or promised bribes over the years, according to court documents.
The Independence School District hires bus drivers and other transportation employees directly rather than working with a subcontractor or outside company. The district currently has several active job postings up for transportation employees, including a listing for a bus driver at an hourly rate between $19.10 and $27.50.
According to the district, bus driver candidates must have a valid Class B Commercial Drivers’ License and “experience working with children or young people [is] preferred.” Drivers are hired on nine-month contracts and are evaluated annually by the ISD Board of Education.
Omenski is the second ISD employee to be detained on charges involving child sexual abuse since the beginning of 2025. Former Truman High School drama teacher Austin Meyer was arrested in March and also placed on administrative leave after more than 11 gigabytes of child pornography was discovered on his work computer.
Truman school administrators contacted police after Meyer contracted a malware virus, prompting a district IT specialist to search his computer and find the pornography. According to court documents, the videos featured children as young as 8 and included portrayals of bestiality.
Omenski also previously worked as a bus driver for the Grain Valley R-V School District, a district spokesperson confirmed Wednesday afternoon. He was last employed with the district in May 2023.
In a release sent to Grain Valley families by email Wednesday afternoon, district officials said that the charges against Omenski are not connected to any former or current students.
According to court records, Omenski’s prior record includes four traffic violations for blocking out car windows, failing to register a motor vehicle and driving between 16 and 19 miles over the speed limit.
Omenski is currently being held at the Jackson County Detention Center without bond, according to the Oak Grove Police Department.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 4:57 PM.
