As Oklahoma students head back to school, even the most excited and eager are plagued with anxieties and fears: Will the teachers be nice? Will the kids like me? Will I make new friends? Will my classes be too hard?
For parents, the overriding fear is often more worrisome: Will my child be safe? No longer a concern just for the overprotective, child safety at school encompasses protection from violence, abuse, bullying and cyber-bullying, tornadoes, and sexual assault. While rare, these are very real threats in today's schools as the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary and the tornado deaths of children at Plaza Towers Elementary have illustrated all too clearly.
Now, with the arrest of an Edmond Public Schools bus driver, local parents have yet another reminder of the dangers that lurk when they send their children off to school each day.
Scott Keith Jepson, 32, had been employed as a school bus driver for Edmond Public Schools since 2006, driving routes servicing three elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. Earlier this week, Jepson was arrested on complaints of lewd acts with a child, possession of child pornography, and distribution of child pornography.
Late last month, investigators served a search warrant at Jepson's home after he was accused of inappropriate sexual contact with an 8-year-old family friend. The boy was not enrolled in Edmond schools, nor was he a student on the man's bus route. At this time, investigators say, Jepson is not accused of molesting any Edmond students, but school officials say the are cooperating with the investigation as well as conducting their own investigation.
Jepson was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Oklahoma County Jail, where he remains held on $90,000 bond for each of the following complaints:
Lewd or indecent proposals or acts to a child under 16 is punishable by 3 to 20 years in prison, unless the child is under the age of 12. If the victim is younger than 12, lewd or indecent proposals or acts to a child is punishable by 25 years to life. In both cases, conviction mandates lifetime sex offender registration.
Because of the nature of the charges against the man and his occupation, investigators are concerned that there may be other victims. Edmond school officials released a statement saying that, although there have never been any complaints against Jepson, they take the situation very seriously:
"Although there has never been a single complaint concerning Jepson's behavior with students, we will make every effort to contact the parents of the students on his bus route - beginning with last year - to make them aware of his arrest and to encourage them to contact authorities if they suspect that their child is a victim."
It is important to remember that an accusation alone is not an indication of guilt, and all defendants are to be considered innocent unless proven guilty. While parents should certainly ask their children about their interactions with adults, they should be careful not to phrase questions in such a way that they confuse or coerce their children into making false allegations."
Parents who discover that their child may have had an inappropriate interaction with this individual are urged to call the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office.
