A Baltimore man arrested May 10 and charged with fondling a 9-year-old Montgomery County girl on a school bus posted $75,000 bail and was released Monday, Montgomery County Detention Center official said.
Srivash Das, of the 2000 block of Wilkins Avenue, admitted to police that he committed the crime, according to court documents. Calls made to a number the documents listed for Das went unanswered Tuesday.
Das, 38, was charged with one count of child abuse and with a third-degree sex offense. According to his arrest report, Das admitted to touching the girl’s breasts and buttocks on top of her clothing and fondling her underneath her clothing.
The victim, a student at Ashburton Elementary School, told her mother about the incident. Her mother reported it to the school May 3.
Das had been employed as a bus attendant for the school district since October 2003, said schools spokesman Brian Edwards. Das “was no longer employed with the school system” as of May 9, Edwards said.
Because of the nature of the job, it is not unusual for a bus attendant to sit next to a student on a bus ride, Edwards said.
“Bus attendants need to move around the bus to talk to students or assist students during the bus trip,” he said.
Das was fingerprinted and passed a criminal background check in 2003, Edwards said. The check looks for past arrests and convictions.
Ashburton Principal Barbara Haughey sent a letter to parents describing the incident last week, Edwards said.
School officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.
