Fired O.C. Bus Driver Gets 3-Year Term for Sexual Assaults on Disabled Female Passengers

A former Orange County bus driver who admitted sexually assaulting two mentally and physically disabled women was sentenced Monday to three years in prison.

Superior Court Judge Richard F. Toohey rejected defense pleas to put Daniel Carlos Porras, 40, on probation and instead sent him to prison because he said the former driver had been “operating in a position of trust” and assaulted multiple victims.

The sisters of one victim urged a harsher sentence because their sibling, who they said had a low IQ, was especially vulnerable. The victim, who is 44, was at the courthouse but too upset to face Porras in court.

“I wanted him to get 20 years,” she said. “I’m glad now that he’s in jail.”

Porras also was fined $1,200 and must register as a sex offender when released from prison.

Porras drove passengers as part of a door-to-door service provided to the developmentally disabled by the Orange County Transportation Authority and Laidlaw Transit Services.

He was fired after he was arrested.

At a previous hearing, Porras admitted to the January 2003 assaults on both women.

The other victim was a 29-year-old woman with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair.

If convicted of raping the two women, Porras could have been imprisoned for up to 10 years had he not reached a plea agreement.

Both victims were trying to live independently for the first time and relied on the bus service, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Craig Cazares.

“The damage done is irreparable,” said the sister of one victim.

“My sister has become a very emotional person [since the attack] and has trouble coping with those emotions.”

The family has sued Porras, OCTA and Laidlaw in civil court. The suit alleges that the agencies failed to supervise Porras adequately even after receiving complaints about his conduct from other female passengers. The lawsuit is pending.