A bus driver for the Coachella Valley Unified School District was arrested Friday for allegedly touching students inappropriately 10 years ago.
The investigation into 64-year-old Jose Luis Moncada of Desert Hot Springs began last October when a student complained to district officials about several alleged incidents that occurred in 2010, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
District Superintendent Maria Gandera acknowledged in a written statement that a former student made the complaint to the district in October, but that the student did not identify the bus driver allegedly responsible.
“The district was unwaware of any allegations before October 2019,” according to the statement. “Upon receiving the report, the district immediately contacted Child Protective Services and law enforcement.”
Gandera did not immediately reply to questions inquiring about Moncada’s current employment status with district.
According to sheriff’s officials, Moncada “inappropriately touched several students while conducting his duties as a school bus driver during the year 2010.”
Deputies arrested him Friday about 5:15 a.m. “at his place of employment” in the 87000 block of Avenue 57.
Moncada was booked at the Indio jail on suspicion of committing multiple lewd acts on children under 14 years old, and remains on $1 million bail until his arraignment scheduled for Tuesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Moncada has no documented felony convictions in Riverside County.