A Montgomery County school bus aide is accused of choking a 6-year-old boy on a school bus.
On Monday, Oct. 16, police received a call from a couple who said their 6-year-old son had gotten off the school bus that afternoon in Montgomery Township, Pennsylvania, visibly upset and with marks on his neck. The boy told his parents that the school bus aide had put his hands around his neck and choked him.
Investigators determined the aide, later identified as MacArthur Wilson, 72, of Lansdale, was asked at about 4 p.m. that day to sit with the boy on the bus. A few minutes later, Wilson was captured on bus surveillance video struggling with the boy’s seatbelt and then putting his hands around the boy’s neck for seven seconds before the bus driver yelled at him, according to investigators.
Police said the attack occurred a minute away from the boy’s bus stop. They also said the bus driver immediately reported the incident to her supervisors when she returned to the bus yard.
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Wilson was arrested and charged with strangulation, attempted simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and harassment. He turned himself in to Montgomery Township Police and was arraigned on Dec. 5 with bail set at $5,000 unsecured. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9.
Online court records don’t list any legal representation for Wilson.
