LOCAL : Driver Admits Sex With Student
A Laidlaw Transit school bus driver pleaded no contest to a charge that he had sex with a minor, a 15-year-old hearing-impaired Burbank girl he drove to junior high school, authorities said today.
Manny G. Acosta, 33, of North Hollywood entered the plea Thursday in Burbank Municipal Court in exchange for a promise from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office not to seek a prison sentence of more than 16 months.
The plea was entered in a closed hearing after Municipal Judge Marion Gubler granted a defense request to exclude the public and the media from the courtroom.
Acosta, who Laidlaw officials said will be fired after the company is officially notified of his plea, is scheduled to be sentenced June 8. He has no prior criminal record, authorities said.
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