ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 7, 1996 TAG: 9612090058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BEDFORD
A former Bedford County school bus driver was indicted Friday on two charges of sexually molesting a 9-year-old boy.
Walter Wayne Pugh, 35, of Huddleston was indicted on one felony charge of taking indecent liberties with a minor, and one misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. In exchange for Pugh's expected guilty pleas to the two charges, prosecutors agreed not to prosecute a more serious charge of aggravated sexual battery, Bedford County Commonwealth's Attorney Randy Krantz said.
Pugh's trial has been set for Jan.8. His attorneys have said he may enter an Alford plea, which means he maintains his innocence but acknowledges there is sufficient evidence for a conviction.
The boy in the case did not ride Pugh's school bus. Interviews with other children have turned up no evidence of abuse, nor were there any prior sexual offenses in Pugh's record, Krantz said.
Pugh was suspended from his job in May after school officials learned of the investigation. The school system did not renew his bus-driving contract this fall.
Pugh also faces an unrelated charge of receiving stolen property. When Bedford County sheriff's investigators searched Pugh's home in connection with the sexual molestation, they found a portable heart-stimulating device and cardiac drugs stolen from the Huddleston Life Saving Crew headquarters in May. - Landmark News Service and staff reports
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