JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A substitute Jacksonville bus driver has been charged with a sex crime after police said he was caught on surveillance video inappropriately touching a kindergarten student on the bus.
Daniel Tittle, 57, has been charged with lewd and lascivious conduct with a victim under 16 years old. His bond was set at $150,003, and he was ordered to have no contact with minors and not to go within 2,500 feet of any schools, public or private.
Tittle was fired in May after an elementary student reported the incident to authorities, and a detective with the Duval County School Police Department investigated.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Tittle is seen on school bus surveillance video tickling the little girl on her chest, sides and back. The detective said Tittle then looks around the bus as if checking that only the children are watching and then thrusts his pelvic area against the child "in a manner that is consistent with simulating a sexual act."
A parent, who asked not to be identified, told News4Jax Tittle inappropriately tickled his kindergartner.
"He knew what he was doing. He put the older girls on the rear of the bus, and the younger girls sat up front," the man said. "When I actually talked to my daughter about it, she was like, 'Daddy, he is our friend.'"
Parents of Pickett Elementary School students received a letter from the principal about the incident in May.
Principal Carlene Smith wrote that the substitute bus driver, later identified by police as Tittle, was on the route normally driven by bus No. 548.
The principal said Tittle, who drove for First Student bus company, was fired after the incident was reported.
According to First Student’s policies, the company thoroughly screens and follows a carefully crafted interview and selection process. First Student also claims to have the most extensive background check process in the industry.