Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Queens school bus driver was indicted last week for allegedly raping and kidnapping a Valley Stream student who used his bus route between January and July 2023.
Giovanny Campos, 50, from Jamaica, Queens, was arraigned Thursday before Judge Robert McDonald on grand jury indictment charges of Kidnapping in the Second Degree (a B violent felony); Rape in the Third Degree (an E felony); two counts of Criminal Sex Act in the Third Degree (an E felony); and Reckless Endangerment (an A misdemeanor).
The defendant pleaded not guilty, and bail was set at $150,000 cash, $300,000 bond, and $1.25 million partially secured bond. Campos is due back in court on December 12, 2023. If convicted of the top charge, the defendant faces a potential maximum of 25 years in prison.
“School bus drivers are trusted to transport and protect our children, but this defendant allegedly preyed on a teenage student and sexually abused her both on his bus and at his apartment in Queens,” said DA Donnelly. “This office is committed to prosecuting predators who prey on vulnerable children. If you believe or know of someone who may have been victimized by Giovanny Campos, please call the Special Victims Bureau at (516) 571-1266.”
DA Donnelly said that, according to the investigation and indictment, Giovanny Campos, also known to the victim as Giovanny Guzman, was employed as a bus driver with the Cheese Bus Company. As part of his duties, the defendant drove a route from Central High School to North High School in Valley Stream. Campos allegedly picked up the teenage student between January and July 2023 along the route. The defendant raped the child multiple times, including in a parking lot while still on the bus. The defendant also transported the teenager to his apartment in Jamaica, Queens, to engage in sexual acts with her.
The defendant was arrested on September 28, 2023, at his residence in Queens by members of the Nassau County Police Department’s Special Victims Squad.
If you believe you or someone you know may have been victimized by Giovanny Campos, please contact NCDA’s Special Victims Bureau at (516) 571-1266.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Chantee Dempsey of the Special Victims Bureau is prosecuting this case. Menachem White, Esq. represents the defendant.
The charges against the defendant are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.
