ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 6, 1996 TAG: 9606060070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on June 7, 1996.
Walter W. Pugh, the Bedford County school bus driver charged with
child sexual abuse, was suspended from his job last month when school
officials became aware of the investigation. A story in Thursday's paper
said he was suspened after his arrest. His age and bus route also were
incorrect. Pugh is 34 and drives a bus for Body Camp Elementary School
and Staunton River middle and high schools.
A Bedford County school bus driver was charged Wednesday with sexually abusing a 9-year-old boy.
Walter W. Pugh, 31, of Moneta, was charged with one count each of aggravated sexual battery, indecent exposure and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Pugh, who drives children to and from Body Camp Elementary and Stewartsville Elementary, was suspended from his job after the arrest and was being held in the Bedford County Jail, according to Lt. John McCane of the Bedford County Sheriff's Office.
The incident was not related to Pugh's job, McCane said, and the boy was not one of the children on Pugh's bus route. Pugh was arrested following a complaint from the Bedford County Department of Social Services.
Sheriff's deputies who searched Pugh's home last month in connection with the investigation confiscated pornographic magazines and videotapes and marital aids, McCane said.
School Superintendent John Kent could not be reached for comment about the arrest Wednesday, but McCane said that when Pugh was hired, he passed a criminal background check required of school employees.
"There was nothing in his record at that time to indicate to the School Board that he shouldn't be hired," McCane said.
LENGTH: Short : 42 linesby CNB