New Hope Aide Admits Touching Boy on Bus
Beyene Buliye jailed in Hennepin County
by Bill Keller / FOX 9 News
NEW HOPE, Minn. – Entrusting a child to a stranger’s care is one of the most difficult things for a parent to do, but a bus employee on a New Hope route is now jailed after admitting he touched a 5-year-old boy on his way home from school.
Beyene Buliye, known as Benny, worked as a bus aide for Metropolitan Transportation Network in Coon Rapids, which had a contract with the New Hope School District.
The 5-year-old victim reported that he had been fondled the week before Halloween while the two were sitting in the first row of seats, telling his mother that Benny was horsing around when she met him at the bus stop.
“As the child exited the bus, he had made a statement that the bus aide was trying to ‘get him’ in a playful way,” said Marty Williams, an investigator with the New Hope Police Department. “Mom asked later, ‘What did you mean by that?” … It was disclosed to the mother the bus aide had tried to grab the child’s penis.”
Police reviewed the footage from the security camera mounted inside the vehicle, which is more comparable to a van than a bus. The 36-year-old aid could be seen putting his hands in the little boy’s lap.
In the video, the victim is heard saying, “That’s my penis.” The footage then shows Buliye putting his hands in the boy’s lap again, saying, “I got it.”
The exchange was so brazen that the video also captured the driver asking what was going on, and the boy once again said the aide was trying to touch his privates.
When questioned by police, Buliye admitted touching the boy. He remains jailed in the Hennepin County Jail.
Buliye does not have a prior criminal record.
The school district told FOX 9 News they are taking the accusations seriously and are contacting the parents of as many as a dozen other children who have had contact with Buliye, but police said they do not expect there will be any more victims.
Anyone with concerns is asked to contact the New Hope Police.
New Hope Aide Admits Touching Boy on Bus: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com
