Parents wonder why background investigation didn't reveal pedophile school bus driver

More than 800 children attend classes in the Altar Valley School District of Tucson Arizona. With news that one of the district’s bus drivers is accused of child molestation, parents are now questioning how the district conducts background investigations.

“I’m shocked,” one parent admits.

Malissa, the grandparent of an Alter Valley student adds, “I know from the Internet, there are several people that are convicted sex offenders that live out here.” It has become an all too familiar and
common responses after receiving word that 63-year-old Altar Valley School bus driver Harry Edward Wroten is in jail for allegedly molesting a 9-year-old girl. He has spent the past year as a driver for the school district.

“If they knew he had this kind of history in his background investigation, he should not be permitted to be around children,” Malissa reveals.

Another parent of an Alter Valley student, Liz, admits, “I would believe that they would do better background investigations, being that this person deals with our kids on a daily basis.”
The district says Wroten drove about 100 students on his route on a daily basis, but Alter Valley District Superintendent Doug Roe says bus drivers do go through careful background investigations.

“Bus drivers receive even more scrutiny than even teachers as far as getting approved to become an employee of the district,” Superintendent Roe explains. “They go under a thorough background investigation by the department of public safety and the school district before they’re allowed to drive a bus.”

Roe says that a background investigation showed no prior history of sexual molestation, yet now Wroten sits behind bars after detectives say he had several sexual encounters with the 9-year-old girl. This situation leaves parents with an unsettling feeling about who they leave their kids with throughout the course of the school day.

“You’ve got to be careful with your children these days. You just don’t know,” Malissa admits.

Wroten is currently in the Pima County Adult Detention Center on a $50,000 bond.

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