Bus driver for Grafton schools arrested for alleged kidnapping, endangerment

"A school bus driver in Grafton is facing several charges, including multiple counts of kidnapping children, after he allegedly disabled bus cameras and deviated from his assigned routes. Redi Gace, 54, of Worcester, was arraigned Wednesday in Westborough District Court on two counts of kidnapping a child, one count of reckless endangerment of a child, one count of felony intimidation, and one count of withholding evidence, according to court records. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $50,000 bail."

"The Grafton Police Department was contacted by the company Dec. 23 about a complaint that a parent had made to the school district. The parent reported that, the day before, their child arrived home about half an hour later than their "assigned scheduled drop off time," according to a statement of facts from police filed in court. When the company reviewed the bus' video, audio, and GPS data, they identified Gace as the driver."

"During their investigation, the bus company found that the interior camera was not functioning and that the front-facing camera was covered, police reported. Only one exterior camera was "functional and recording" at the time, the statement of facts said. GPS data and video from Dec. 22 indicated that there was one child on the bus at the time, a 5-year-old non-verbal boy, police wrote."

Redi Gace, 54, of Worcester, was arraigned on charges including two counts of kidnapping a child, reckless endangerment, felony intimidation, and withholding evidence, and pleaded not guilty. He was ordered held on $50,000 bail. Gace worked for AA Transportation, which provided service to Grafton Public Schools. The company reported a parent complaint after a child arrived about 30 minutes late. Company review of bus video, audio, and GPS identified Gace as the driver. Investigators found the interior camera not functioning, the front-facing camera covered, and only one exterior camera recording. GPS and video showed one non-verbal 5-year-old on the bus.

Read at Boston.com