Suit alleges MPUSD was negligent in hiring bus driver later convicted of molestation

The families of two girls who were sexually assaulted by a school bus driver have filed a civil suit against the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District.

Carlos Domingo Rodriguez III, 31, pleaded no contest in February to two counts of felony lewd and lascivious acts.

Rodriguez was a bus driver for the district when he was arrested in October 2013. He was accused of touching two Colton Middle School girls, ages 12 and 13, while he was transporting students to and from school.

Prosecutors said he also threatened one of the girls, telling her he knew where she lived, would go to her home and rape her. The children immediately ran from the bus to tell one of their parents what had happened. Witnesses on the bus also saw Rodriguez play an explicit video on his phone for students and play songs with inappropriate lyrics.

In April, Rodriguez was given a suspended prison sentence of six years and placed on probation for three years. He also was ordered to register as a sex offender for life and prohibited from possessing any cellphone device equipped with a camera.

The civil suit filed by the girls’ families, which also names Rodriguez as a defendant, accuses the school district of negligence and failure to do a proper background check on the driver.

(The complaints are here and here.)