Bus driver accused of groping a minor in Taylorsville

TAYLORSVILLE – A former Granite School District bus driver is booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for reportedly propositioning and groping a 16-year old Taylorsville High School student.

Granite School District administrators say August Shell was driving his bus after finishing his shift Wednesday morning when he reportedly saw the student and pulled over to proposition him.  Spokesman Ben Horsley says the boy wasn’t interested, but, “[Shell] groped the student and the student rebuffed his advances and quickly ended the conversation.”  The teen immediately went inside the school and told an adult.

Horsley says they have they don’t have any footage of what happened, but, they have video from inside the bus as Shell got out to approach the victim.  The teen claims he informed Shell he was a minor, but the propositioning continued, anyway.

District investigators say they are confident the teen is telling the truth.  Horsley says, “There’s been some admission on the part of the suspect in some of the details of the allegation itself.”

They don’t have any reason to suspect Shell may have done this to any other student, but, Horsley says they haven’t ruled that out because the propositioning was so brazen.  So, they’re asking parents to take a closer look at Shell.  “We sent out a photo of this former employee to the area most recently served and asked parents to let us know if their student had been approached by this individual,” Horsley says.

Shell has been a substitute bus driver with the district since November of last year.

(Photo Credit: Salt Lake County Jail)