Bus Driver Accused of Molestation

A bus driver for the Tustin Unified School District has been arrested after a 6-year-old girl told her mother he had molested her on the way home from school, police said Wednesday.

Marcos Moreno Leon, 42, of Stanton was booked into Orange County Jail on Tuesday night. He faces two counts of child molestation.

Police and school district officials interviewed 40 children who ride the same bus from Helen Estock Elementary School, said Tustin Police Lt. Brent Zicarelli.

“So far, we haven’t gotten any other victims, and we might not find any others. But there may be witnesses,” Zicarelli said. “She wasn’t alone with him--there were other students on the bus.”

Notices informing parents of the allegations were sent home with students Wednesday, said Mark Eliot, a school district spokesman. “We’ll have some community liaisons on campus in case parents have questions.”

The girl’s mother notified police Monday evening after the girl told her Leon molested her as she was getting on the bus.

Leon has been placed on suspension pending the outcome of the police investigation, said Susan Retter, a vice president of First Student, the Tustin-based company hired by the school district to handle transportation. He has been employed by the company since 1986, Retter said.

Retter said drivers undergo extensive testing and background checks with the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Justice and the Department of Motor Vehicles before hiring.

Police did not find previous convictions against Leon, Zicarelli said.