HARRINGTON, Del. - A Harrington family speaks out over the fight for their daughter's safety. They tell WMDT for months, a school bus driver allegedly over-stepped his boundaries.
Day in and day out, parents put their child on the school bus, trusting the driver to keep them out of harms way. It was quite the opposite for one family.
"I put her on the bus every morning and I would go out and tell him 'Good Morning', and he would just look at me like strange ya know," said her mother Jayne Basiliko.
Jayne and Phil Basiliko are outraged after discovering that 67 year old Roland Mitchell allegedly touched their 7-year-old daughter inappropriately, all while riding the bus to school. They say he was showering her with gifts and candy not knowing she was dye sensitive.
"It's 1.3 miles to the school and 1.3 miles back, and this is where I understand all the conversation went on," said Phil.
Mitchell also had some strange requests.
"He told Jayne he wanted us to wrap the mailbox in orange duck tape. He said he wanted to find the place," said Phil.
They say he had already been picking Elizabeth up for weeks. Then it got worse.
"She said he used to talk dirty on the bus and he'd chuckle about it, and then she told me he did this: inky dinky do, touch your nose, I love you," said the father showing where he touched her.
According to school officials, there were other complaints about Mitchell's behavior. He has since been fired and charged with offensive touching. However, the family says more needs to be done.
"There is no law preventing a stranger from coming and pursuing your child," said Jayne.
The fear these parents have for their daughter continues since she was just served a subpoena to testify in court. That means their daughter will have to face this man again during the trial scheduled for October 25th.
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