Bus attendant Louis Cadet, of Hicksville, charged with endangering the welfare of a child after allegedly striking a student

A 92-year-old school bus attendant accused of striking a student with Down syndrome in March pleaded not guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and other charges during an arraignment in Hempstead on Wednesday.

Nassau District Judge Veronica Renta-Irwin released Louis Cadet, of Hicksville, on his own recognizance and ordered Cadet to return to court on May 7.

According to a felony complaint written by Nassau police, Cadet was employed by Educational Bus Transportation as a "one-on-one aide" for a 13-year-old student with Down syndrome who is unable to care for himself.

On March 11, according to the complaint, Cadet was seen on surveillance video forcibly grabbing the teen’s hair and then shaking his head on two occasions.

Cadet also was seen "making physical contact with the left side of the victim’s face" with his hand, the complaint said. The victim said "stop" multiple times during the encounter and was seen holding his head and face while appearing visibly distressed.

Cadet is also charged with endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree harassment. Prosecutors said there is video of the incident.

Cadet’s attorney, Lloyd Nadel, of Mineola, said the defendant no longer works for Educational Bus Transportation. Nadel said he has not yet seen video of the incident.

"He’s been working for this company for several years," Nadel said. "There has never been a complaint about him. He’s got no prior criminal record. Apparently a complaint was made by a parent of a child that he touched him improperly. Mr. Cadet denies that happened."

The alleged victim is a student at Rosemary Kennedy School, which is operated by Nassau BOCES and serves children with developmental disabilities. Hicksville Public Schools hired Educational Bus Transportation to transport students to Rosemary Kennedy School.

James Rogan, the director of safety and training for Educational Bus Transportation, identified Cadet on the video, the felony complaint said.

Theodore Fulton, superintendent of Hicksville schools, said the district was notified about the alleged incident on March 11. An investigation turned up a second alleged incident involving another student, Fulton said in a statement to Newsday.

"We notified all parents with children on the bus, contacted the police, communicated with our BOCES partners, and completed NYS Child Abuse in an Educational Setting reporting forms as required by law," Fulton said. "These reports have been submitted to the state."

Cadet has not been charged in connection with the second allegation. Nadel declined to comment, saying he was not aware of the second allegation. 

The Nassau Board of Cooperative Educational Services said in a statement it "condemns the abhorrent alleged behavior."

"Since this incident was reported, we have maintained ongoing communication with the affected students’ families and provided mental health counseling and support," the statement said.

Educational Bus Transportation also issued a statement regarding Cadet's arrest and criminal charges. 

"Our first concern is the safe transport of our passengers," the statement said. "When one of our employees notified us of the incident, we reviewed video, removed the bus monitor from service, and alerted Hicksville public schools. As is our policy, we took all necessary steps to ensure that our strict safety standards were upheld."