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duritz
Banned
MILWAUKEE (May 7) - A school bus driver has been charged with abuse after a 9-year-old with Down syndrome secretly taped the driver hitting him while trying to make him behave.
Brian Duchow, 28, was charged Tuesday with felony abuse of a child and misdemeanor disorderly conduct, carrying a possible maximum penalty of 6 1/2 years in prison.
``I never, ever expected to hear what we heard on the tape,'' said Rosemary Mutulo, whose son Jacob has Down syndrome. ``It made me sick to my stomach to hear this man threatening my child.''
The Mutulos put a tape recorder in Jacob's backpack because they wanted to know more about reports that he was misbehaving on the bus. They brought the tape, recorded April 29, to officials' attention and police arrested Duchow over the weekend.
Duchow admitted slapping the child in anger and hitting him in the leg, according to the criminal complaint. The complaint notes that Jacob also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
His parents played some of the tape for reporters at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
The driver can be heard shouting at Jacob because the boy is making bus engine noises, yelling and fiddling with his seat belt. At one point, the driver stops the bus and moves toward the boy, followed by what sounds like a hand slapping clothing. The driver can be heard threatening to break the boy's arm and beat him, and warns, ``Stop before I beat the living hell out of you.''
Jacob, attends the Academy of Accelerated Learning, a Milwaukee public school.
Brian Duchow, 28, was charged Tuesday with felony abuse of a child and misdemeanor disorderly conduct, carrying a possible maximum penalty of 6 1/2 years in prison.
``I never, ever expected to hear what we heard on the tape,'' said Rosemary Mutulo, whose son Jacob has Down syndrome. ``It made me sick to my stomach to hear this man threatening my child.''
The Mutulos put a tape recorder in Jacob's backpack because they wanted to know more about reports that he was misbehaving on the bus. They brought the tape, recorded April 29, to officials' attention and police arrested Duchow over the weekend.
Duchow admitted slapping the child in anger and hitting him in the leg, according to the criminal complaint. The complaint notes that Jacob also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
His parents played some of the tape for reporters at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
The driver can be heard shouting at Jacob because the boy is making bus engine noises, yelling and fiddling with his seat belt. At one point, the driver stops the bus and moves toward the boy, followed by what sounds like a hand slapping clothing. The driver can be heard threatening to break the boy's arm and beat him, and warns, ``Stop before I beat the living hell out of you.''
Jacob, attends the Academy of Accelerated Learning, a Milwaukee public school.
