Bus drivers are often the first adult – other than a parent or caregiver – to see a child in the morning. A professional that parents trust to get their children to school safely. How can we be sure that trust is well-placed? 

News recently broke of a school bus driver, John Michael Evans (40), of Tullytown, PA, was arrested on Tuesday, July 16, 2020 “on counts of rape, child pornography, sex trafficking of a minor and related counts stemming from abuse that occurred over three years,” according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.

In the case of one of the victims, authorities say “Evans abused the boy, possessed nude photos of him, and arranged sexual encounters with other men which included the teen.” The criminal complaint also states that Evans instructed the victim, who is a teenager, to “indicate he was an adult if the other men asked.”

Nine in ten children will never report their abuse, often because they were abused by someone they know, love, or trust. This brave teen reported to officials that Evans began abusing him in April and that the abuse occurred “too many times to count.” 

Anyone who believes they may have been victimized or has information about others victimized by John Michael Evans should contact Bucks County Detective Lt. David Kemmerer or Detective David Coyne at 215.348.6354 or Tullytown Police Sgt. Andrew Bunda at 215.945.0999 ext. 225.

The Beau Biden Foundation works to ensure that all adults – educators, bus drivers, and volunteers – are properly trained on how to keep children safe from abuse. We have been working closely with school bus companies and school districts to help combat abuse since 2018. 

So far in 2020, the Foundation has trained ALS Transport – a small, minority-owned school bus company based in Wilmington, DE – in Recognizing & Reporting Abuse, as well as all transportation professionals of the Christina and Red Clay School Districts in Delaware. We have also provided child abuse prevention training for a number of bus companies including Advanced Student Transportation, Krapf School Bus Company (Delaware only), First Student, Boulden Buses, Inc., Knotts Bus, Inc., and Stapleford Chevrolet school bus drivers in Stewards of Children®. This critical training is helping to protect thousands of children from sexual abuse every day.

If you own a bus company, work in a school district, on a school board, or are a parent who wants to help ensure the safety of children by having the best child protection policies and training for your drivers to shield children from abuse, please contact us at [email protected].

If you have reasonable suspicion of abuse, please click here to find the child abuse reporting line in your area and make the call.