Breaking News: Spotsylvania County Public Schools' Issues Statement Regarding the Miguel Velasquez Velasco Case
Velasco was found guilty and sentenced in Circuit Court today.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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A former Spotsylvania County Public Schools substitute bus attendant was found guilty in Circuit Court today of multiple counts of aggravated sexual battery of a minor under age 13.
In recent weeks, questions have been raised about the timeline between when the school district first became aware of the incident and when it was reported to authorities.
This evening, with the case against Velasco brought to completion, the school system responded to those concerns.
“While we understand the importance of transparency with our stakeholders, we did not make ongoing public statements regarding the case to avoid compromising the legal process and to ensure that justice was served,” the press release states. “We thank the Sheriff’s Office, Commonwealth Attorney’s Office and individuals who ensured that Miguel Velasquez Velasco was convicted to the full extent of the law.”
“We are deeply saddened by what occurred, and our focus remains on the impacted students, providing support to them and their families and protecting their privacy,” the statement continued.
According to the statement, a parent emailed their child’s teacher on September 11, 2024, with a complaint about the child’s encounter with the former substitute bus attendant, “specifically that the individual had held and rubbed his daughter’s hand, and it made his daughter feel uncomfortable.”
This complaint was “immediately addressed as per SCPS policy and practices,” according to the statement.
On the evening of September 26, 2024, the division was made aware of alleged sexual misconduct by Velasco. School officials notified Child Protective Services and the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office Child Victims Unit, and launched an investigation.
As a result of the investigation, Velasco was “immediately terminated” and “all parents/guardians of the identified students involved with the investigation were personally contacted by school officials.” Velasco was arrested later that evening and charged with 11 felonies.
The division shared a public statement on September 27, 2024.
The statement reiterated that before anyone is hired, the school division conducts “a full criminal background check, including fingerprinting and verification through the Virginia Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry, FBI, and Virginia State Police for all employees.”
“Any individuals who have committed barrier crimes as per the Virginia Code, are not hired,” the statement continues. “This individual met all the criteria prior to working with students, including having his proper work authorization from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.”
Over the past year, the school division “fully cooperated to ensure that this individual was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” as affirmed by the Sheriff’s Office, the Commonwealth’s Attorney, and Child Protective Services, according to the statement.
The division has implemented the following additional safety measures as result of this incident, according to the statement:
Bus camera footage is regularly reviewed, not just when a complaint is received or an accident occurs.
Strive to have two bus attendants on Special Education buses.
Changed the location of where the bus attendant sits during the bus route.
Strengthened staff training and collaboration measures with the Child Protective Services, Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office Child Victims Unit, and the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office.
All background checks and hiring information are provided to the School Board for approval (previously only reviewed by Human Resources).
Hourly employees are now approved by the School Board (previously, only full-time employees were approved by the School Board).
The statement concludes:
“The safety of students and staff is our greatest priority. Actions that endanger or harm our students are not condoned and are immediately addressed to include dismissal from employment with SCPS and referral to law enforcement for potential criminal charges. We remind and encourage students, parents/guardians, staff, and employees who have a concern about a child’s safety to report it immediately to school administration, division administrative services office, or through the SCPS Anonymous Tip Line at http://spotsylvania.k12.va.us/scpstips.”
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