Jury acquits former Scott County bus driver of harassment

A former Scott County school bus driver was acquitted last week of harassment with physical contact involving a 5-year-old boy.

A six-person jury in Scott District Court found Durbin Wallace not guilty Friday after a one-day trial.

“He was embarrassed about the whole thing and obviously very glad to see his name be cleared,” defense attorney John E. Cornett said.

Wallace, 65, was charged last fall with misdemeanor assault, but the charge was amended months ago because a judge found no allegation of injury to the child, Cornett said.

The boy was being disorderly on the bus, including getting out of his seat and getting down in the floor, Cornett said.

As Wallace lifted the child by reaching under the boy’s arms, the boy’s head hit a window and he yelped.

“The proof was that, three or four minutes after this occurred, the child was laughing and skipping on his way home,” Cornett said. “He was literally skipping across the street.”

The jury deliberated “just a very few minutes” before returning with the verdict, Cornett said.

Georgetown police Chief Mike Bosse said the department’s investigator “did an excellent job of presenting the evidence to a jury for their decision. We accept the finding of the jury because that is how our criminal justice system works.”

Wallace, a farmer, was fired by Scott County Schools after the incident. Cornett said he doesn’t know whether Wallace would like to return to driving a bus.

“I think that’s undecided,” Cornett said. “When I talked to him, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do that. He wasn’t sure if they (the school district) wanted him and wasn’t sure if he wanted to be there if they didn’t want him. He’ll be making a decision on that relatively soon.”

Judge Mary Jane Phelps presided over the trial.

This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 2:17 PM with the headline "Jury acquits former Scott County bus driver of harassment."