CCSD bus driver held without bail
Surveillance camera shows youngsters being abused, police say
A veteran Clark County School District special education bus driver sexually assaulted and molested small children, even while other students were on the bus, according to Las Vegas police.
Michael Banco, 55, was arrested at his home Thursday and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on 19 felony counts: three counts of sexual assault against a child under the age of 14; eight counts of lewdness with a child under the age of 14; four counts of first-degree kidnapping and four counts of first-degree child abuse or neglect.
As the special education bus driv- er, Banco would place children in various seats and buckle them individually.
On three separate days, Banco is seen on the bus’ surveillance camera molesting and assaulting children at the back of the bus before he drops them off after school,
Alleged victims described as ‘very small’
according to an arrest report released Tuesday.
Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Conrad Hafen ordered Banco to be held without bail Tuesday. He is scheduled to be back in court Thursday.
Cherine Tyler-Archer said her 3-yearold granddaughter told her last week that the bus driver forced her into oral sex.
“He chose my granddaughter because he felt she wouldn’t talk,” the grandmother said. “But she talks to her teacher, and she talks at home. She’s a victim, and he cannot get away with it.”
The girl has since had trouble sleeping and eating, she said.
“This situation has turned our lives completely upside down,” Tyler-Archer said.
Neither police nor district officials have specified the ages of the other children, but they were described as “very small,” roughly preschool- and elementary school-aged.
Banco was responsible for driving about 20 students on a route that took him all over the Las Vegas Valley.
A parent of a student on Banco’s route called police Thursday to report “inappropriate conduct by a bus driver,” Metro Lt. Dan McGrath said last week.
Authorities would not confirm if the incident was recorded but did say that most CCSD buses are equipped with surveillance cameras.
According to the website Transparent Nevada, Banco is a bus driver for special education students, and he has been with the district since 1995.
Banco is on leave without pay from the school district.
The last background check conducted on him was at his time of his hire, about 20 years ago.
Tyler-Archer said she wants more regular background checks on school district employees and aides to ride the bus with drivers who carry children younger than 6.
She added that she hopes the judge refuses to allow Banco to be released from jail.
“He’s nothing but a monster,” she said. “He better be glad that they got him.”
Defense lawyer Robert Draskovich said Banco was interrogated for eight hours without being allowed to meet with an attorney. Colton Lochhead contributed. Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-3801039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker