School bus driver caught on video sexually exploiting 10-year-old girl, Iowa cops say

A bus driver is accused of kidnapping and sexually exploiting a 10-year-old girl after dropping off other students at school, Iowa police say.

Thomas Alan Williams, 57, a bus driver for College Community School District in Cedar Rapids, allowed all the students to get off the vehicle Thursday morning but told the girl to stay back, KWWL reported.

He parked the bus in a parking lot on campus and pulled her on his lap to kiss her, but the girl pushed him away, the Waterloo, Iowa, TV station reported.

The incident was caught on security video from the bus, The Gazette reported.

A school district spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday from McClatchy News.

In a statement, the district said the bus driver was “relieved of duties immediately” until the school board takes action to fire him, KCRG reported.

“The district would like to reassure families and staff that at all employees undergo a rigorous background check upon hire,” the district wrote in the statement to KCRG. “Additional background checks are completed every (five) years throughout their employment.”

Williams was charged with sexual exploitation by a school employee, kidnapping and false imprisonment, according to jail records.