Dirty little secret: Charlottesville School Bus Driver Convicted of Sex Crimes

Darrell Eugene Farley, a long-time bus driver for Charlottesville City Schools (CCS), was convicted on September 10 of felony sex charges involving children.

As first reported by The Schilling Show, the deviant driver was booked on April 2, 2013 and subsequently was relieved from his employment with Charlottesville City Schools on April 24.

On September 10, in Rockingham County Circuit Court, Farley pleaded guilty to the following charges:

§ 18.2-374.3. Use of communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children.

Which includes:

C. It shall be unlawful for any person 18 years of age or older to use a communications system, including but not limited to computers or computer networks or bulletin boards, or any other electronic means, for the purposes of soliciting, with lascivious intent, any person he knows or has reason to believe is a child younger than 15 years of age to knowingly and intentionally:

1. Expose his sexual or genital parts to any child to whom he is not legally married or propose that any such child expose his sexual or genital parts to such person;

2. Propose that any such child feel or fondle his own sexual or genital parts or the sexual or genital parts of such person or propose that such person feel or fondle the sexual or genital parts of any such child;

3. Propose to such child the performance of an act of sexual intercourse or any act constituting an offense under §18.2-361; or

4. Entice, allure, persuade, or invite any such child to enter any vehicle, room, house, or other place, for any purposes set forth in the preceding subdivisions.

And;

§ 18.2-370. Taking indecent liberties with children; penalties.

Which includes:

A. Any person 18 years of age or over, who, with lascivious intent, knowingly and intentionally commits any of the following acts with any child under the age of 15 years is guilty of a Class 5 felony:

(1) Expose his or her sexual or genital parts to any child to whom such person is not legally married or propose that any such child expose his or her sexual or genital parts to such person; or

(3) Propose that any such child feel or fondle his own sexual or genital parts or the sexual or genital parts of such person or propose that such person feel or fondle the sexual or genital parts of any such child; or

(4) Propose to such child the performance of an act of sexual intercourse or any act constituting an offense under §18.2-361; or

(5) Entice, allure, persuade, or invite any such child to enter any vehicle, room, house, or other place, for any of the purposes set forth in the preceding subdivisions of this section.

Astoundingly, no local news outlet has reported on Darrell Eugene Farley’s offenses, his guilty pleas, or his 30-year prison sentence (with all but 8 years suspended).

Charlottesville City Schools—which employed Farley over a ten-year period—appears to have methodically suppressed information on his arrest and conviction, even though his crimes involve children and even though he has been in direct, unsupervised contact with thousands of children during his tenure with the division.

In a January 23 letter to city schools’ parents, Superintendent, Dr. Rosa Atkins, details an incident in which a “bb” or “air-soft” gun was discharged on a city school bus resulting in a boy’s injury. Ironically, this event occurred on Darrell Eugene Farley’s bus. CCS officials, likely aware of the investigation into Farley’s suspected sexual misconduct, shielded their driver from media interviews on the bus shooting.

Superintendent Atkins’ letter to parents reads in part:

Safeguarding our students and schools requires the active partnership of students, staff and parents. Part of this partnership involves making sure parents are informed when issues arise at Charlottesville City Schools regarding school safety.

And;

Again, your child’s physical and emotional well-being is of the utmost importance to our school staff…please know that we address our task of keeping your child safe while helping them achieve their potential with heart-felt diligence.

Farley’s sex convictions may not directly involve Charlottesville City Schools’ students, but his ongoing interaction with CCS students over the course of a decade certainly merits notice to current and past parents of CCS students.

Why would Superintendent Rosa Atkins and the Charlottesville School Board shun student safety and disregard their own stated policies regarding: 1) an informed partnership with parents, and 2) disclosure of relevant, safety-related information?

For that matter, why would the Daily Progress—Charlottesville’s only daily newspaper, and the primary source of “news” for many central Virginians—refuse to report initially on Farley’s arrest, and later, on his subsequent conviction and sentencing?

Is there a conspiracy to conceal the Farley incident in order to protect the already tenuous reputation of Charlottesville City Schools regarding sexual abuse of children and sexually inappropriate conduct of CCS teachers?

Dr. Rosa Atkins, the Charlottesville City School Board, and the Daily Progress—in their respective roles—are guilty minimally of dereliction of duty to the public. They should be questioned and held accountable for their inaction regarding the reporting of sexual felonies against children by a CCS employee.