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SEARCHPolice say the women discovered the child when they returned for their afternoon route and tried to cover up the incident. They are are charged with child neglect and leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A school bus driver and aide from the School District of Palm Beach County were arrested last Wednesday after a special-needs student was left on their bus for several hours, according to police.
Marlene Alexis and Kathleen Soufis are charged with child neglect and leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle.
State prosecutors and school district police said the women attempted to cover up the fact that they left the 3-year-old unattended on the bus, WPBF reports.
The student was picked up at his bus stop but never got off the bus, according to the probable cause affidavit. Alexis and Soufis did not find the child until they returned to the bus for their afternoon route, police said.
School district officials said that both women had been reassigned within the transportation facility since January, with no student contact. The district will assess the job status of the women if or when they are released.
Alexis and Soufis could remain in temporary positions involving no student contact pending the outcome of the criminal cases and employee relations investigations, the news source reports.
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