Spotsylvania counselor charged with sexual assault on school bus

Miguel Angel Velasquez Velasco, 22, is charged with eight counts of aggravated sexual battery of a child, two counts of indecent liberties and attempted sodomy. He is being held without bail at the Rappahannock Regional Jail.

Sheriff’s Maj. Troy Skebo said the Child Victim Unit launched an investigation Thursday after school officials reported suspicions that a student had been touched inappropriately on the bus. Skebo said the investigation revealed three children aged four or five were attacked that day. The victims are all students with disabilities.

Skebo said investigators are still investigating Velasquez Velasco and that no further information will be released at this time.

It is the latest in a series of recent arrests involving school employees and the second in a week. A Parkside Elementary School autism teacher has been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after a 6-year-old autistic child was found on Smith Station Road after leaving school. The child was not injured.

Velasquez Velasco is also the second employee this year to be charged for alleged actions on school grounds. A former second-grader at Spotswood Elementary School is facing multiple drug charges after narcotics were found in her classroom in May.

Several students have also been charged with crimes, including at least eight who were recently arrested for allegedly posting threats on social media.