Duct-tape claim is called into question
The school superintendent says other students on the bus didn't see the driver tape a kindergartener's mouth shut.
By JACOB H. FRIES
Published December 16, 2005
DUNEDIN - Eight students on Kyle Gerber's school bus said they did not see the bus driver duct tape the boy's mouth during the ride home earlier this week, Pinellas County school officials said Thursday.
The driver and the adult aide on the bus, meanwhile, said it didn't happen, according to school superintendent Clayton Wilcox.
The 5-year-old told his parents Monday that the driver taped his mouth shut because he was talking during the 20-minute ride from Dunedin Elementary School.
"All indications are that that's not what happened," said Wilcox, adding that he had been told there was no duct tape on the bus. "We have nothing to corroborate what the young man has said."
The Gerber family reported the boy's allegations to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, which opened a criminal investigation Monday night. The case was later turned over to a sworn law enforcement officer with the school district, who questioned the driver, the bus aide and eight of Kyle's 10 or so bus mates.
Investigator Rick Stelljes did not finish the inquiry Thursday as planned because the Gerber family's attorney blocked him from interviewing the boy, Wilcox said.
"If the family is really interested in finding what happened on the bus, they should talk to us," he said.
The Gerber family's attorney, Louis Kwall, said he canceled Kyle's meeting with Stelljes because Wilcox suggested on television earlier Thursday that it appeared the boy concocted the allegations.
"Wilcox has already made up his mind," Kwall said. "What kind of trust can we have in a system where the superintendent issues a statement before the investigation is complete?"
In light of Wilcox's comments, Kwall said he could see no reason to permit the boy to be questioned by an investigator.
"The only reason to talk to my client is to pick on him," he said.
Wilcox responded that he hadn't reached any conclusions and released only preliminary findings. "I understand it's a good media play to attack those he alleges are responsible in this," he said.
Wilcox said that without Kyle's own account, it would be hard to say definitely what actually occurred - if anything.
Kyle's mother, Kathy, told the St. Petersburg Times on Wednesday that she noticed a smudge on her son's face as soon as he stepped off the bus. When asked about the gummy residue, Kyle told her that the bus driver had taped his mouth shut.
Kyle later related the same story to his father, then again to a sheriff's investigator, his parents said. His details were consistent and his fear seemed real, they said.
The parents still believe Kyle's account, Kwall said. "Nothing has changed as far as their understanding of what happened," he said.
Kwall said he had not spoken with the driver, the adult aide or any of the other children on the bus Monday because their identities have not been made public.
"Nobody wants anyone to be blamed for something they didn't do," he said. "Our goal is to get to the bottom of whatever the truth is."
There is no footage of what happened on the bus because a video surveillance camera had been removed for maintenance, school district spokesman Sterling Ivey said.
The driver, in her sixth year with the district, has been reassigned during the investigation. The aide, who has worked for the district for nine years, will not ride Kyle's route.
Both could face termination if the allegations are substantiated, school officials have said.
The allegations have hung over Dunedin Elementary since they became public Tuesday, dampening what would normally be a festive time of year, said Stacy Wilson, a second-grade teacher. "Our job is hard enough as it is," she said.
Wilson said she and other teachers had always questioned the boy's allegations. Even so, they have had a major impact on the school community.
"We're a very close family," she said. "When one hurts, we all feel it."
Jacob H. Fries can be reached at 445-4156 or jfries@sptimes.com