Upper Darby school bus driver charged with duct taping 10

UPPER DARBY — A school bus driver with the Upper Darby School District is charged with false imprisonment and related offenses for allegedly using duct tape to restrain a 10-year-old child who was already secured by a bus harness in March.

"Bus drivers are entrusted with enormous responsibility every time they get behind the wheel," said District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer in a release. "In addition to being safe drivers, we also expect them to treat the children in their care with dignity and respect. Using duct tape on a child who was already fully restrained in the vehicle's harness was not only inexcusable, it was also dangerous."

Juliet Pratt, 54, of the 500 block of East Broadway Avenue in Clifton Heights, is also charged with endangering the welfare of a child and possessing an instrument of crime in the March 8 incident, which was allegedly not the first of its kind.

Upper Darby police were dispatched to Hillcrest Elementary School in the Drexel Hill section of the township about 10:35 a.m. for a report of an assault on a child, according to an affidavit of probable cause for Pratt's arrest written by Upper Darby Detective Kevin Knapp.

Knapp and Detective Sgt. Daniel Oliveri reviewed surveillance video from the bus that allegedly showed the child sitting in a district-supplied safety harness when Pratt approaches and binds the child's ankle with tape. Pratt then walked back to the student and applied more duct tape near their chest, according to the affidavit.

After arriving at the school, Pratt is seen in the video cutting the tape off the student and the student exiting the bus before Pratt throws the tape away, the affidavit says.

Knapp notes the video shows the student enter the bus at their stop and sit in their seat without issue. At no time is the student seen leaving the seat or attempting to move around the bus, according to the affidavit.

Detectives spoke with the district director of transportation, who noted drivers may not restrain students with duct tape at any time and that doing so presents a safety issue if there is an emergency.

"Had an accident occurred, this child would have been unable to free himself from the tape," Stollsteimer said. "There is simply no excuse for this conduct, which is why these charges have been filed."

Pratt allegedly admitted to duct-taping the student's ankles and the buckles of the harness March 8 and that she had to use a seat-belt cutter to free the student upon arrival at school. Pratt also told detectives that she had duct-taped the same student once before.

"I want to thank Upper Darby Police Department Detective Kevin Knapp and Detective Sergeant Oliveri for their work on this case," Stollsteimer said. "I also want to thank the hundreds of bus drivers who operate vehicles all over Delaware County every single day without incident. As the son of a SEPTA bus driver, I know firsthand that it is a difficult job that rarely gets the recognition that it deserves, and we do not want this case to detract from the great job that they do in support of the children of this county."

Pratt was held on all three charges following a preliminary hearing May 18 before Magisterial District Judge Andrew Goldberg. Two other charges for unlawful restraint and simple assault were dismissed.

Pratt is represented by defense counsel Art Donato, who noted Tuesday that he somewhat successfully argued at the preliminary hearing that the child's legs were not restrained and that he was kicking the interior side of the bus. The taping was just an attempt to keep the boy from injuring himself or others, Donato said.

"While it may not have been the best way to do it – and in retrospect there may have been other ways of doing it – in no way did she intend to cause bodily injury to that child," said Donato. "She was trying to protect him."

Donato said Pratt did not have any criminal intentions and that he would be evaluating what, if any, motions he intends to file moving forward.

"She's a nice woman and I just don't think it's a crime," he said. "Not every time someone makes a mistake is it a crime."

Upper Darby School District Spokesperson Aaronda Beauford said the district is aware of the incident and is cooperating with authorities in the investigation. She added Pratt is not driving buses at this time.

Pratt remains free on $2,500 cash bail, according to online court records. She is scheduled for formal arraignment at the county courthouse in Media June 21. Assistant District Attorney Allison Velez is prosecuting.

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