A Delco school bus driver took upskirt photos and video of female passengers on his route, prosecutors said
Bruce Garner had 139 videos and images of eight girls on his smartphone, prosecutors said Friday.
A former bus driver working in the Marple Newtown School District took dozens of upskirt videos and photos of girls who were on his route, prosecutors in Delaware County said Friday.
Bruce Garner, 70, of Lansdowne, has been charged with sexual abuse of children, invasion of privacy, unlawful contact with a minor, endangering the welfare of a child, and related offenses. Garner remained in custody, in lieu of $25,000 bail.
Garner’s attorney, R. Emmett Madden, said Garner is remorseful for his actions and is “committed to proving that he is worthy of redemption.”
“He understands the seriousness of these allegations, and the trust he violated,” Madden said. “He is entering mental health treatment on his own accord.”
Upper Providence Township Police Chief David Montella said there was no indication that Garner had any physical contact with the girls he recorded using his smartphone. The investigation into Garner’s activity will continue, with help from the Marple Newtown District, he added.
“The unspeakable actions of Bruce Garner were an invasion of the teenage victims’ privacy and an attack on their innocence,” Montella said in a statement.
Investigators were first notified of his behavior on Monday, when they were contacted by the mother of a 14-year-old student at St. Mary Magdalen School, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Garner’s arrest. The Catholic school uses buses operated by the Marple Newtown School District.
The mother showed detectives video footage her daughter recorded on her smartphone that depicted Garner holding his smartphone out toward the bus’ door, filming as the girl exited the vehicle. In a later interview with police, the girl told detectives that Garner only befriended the female students, and seemed to engage them in conversation on days when they wore their uniform skirts.
The girl told detectives that she and two other female students have long felt uncomfortable around Garner, according to the affidavit.
Garner agreed to meet with detectives on Wednesday, after a search warrant for his smartphone had been executed by police. During the interview, Garner admitted to filming female students as they exited the bus, holding his phone close to the floor and tilting it upward, underneath their skirts, the affidavit said. He told detectives that he often singled the girls out for conversation as they left the bus, so that he would have more time to record them, according to the filing.
An examination of Garner’s phone revealed 139 improper videos and still images of eight different students at St. Mary Magdalen, according to the affidavit. Detectives later determined that the victims ranged in age from 9 to 14 years old.
Officials from the Marple Newtown School District did not return a request for comment Friday. Investigators said Garner has been fired from his position and has been barred from entering school property.