Giovanny Campos of Queens, school bus driver, charged with allegedly raping, kidnapping teenage student
Giovanny Campos, 50, of Jamaica, Queens. Credit: Nassau County District Attorney
A Valley Stream school bus driver has been indicted on charges that he allegedly kidnapped and raped a teenage student multiple times on his bus route earlier this year, Nassau County prosecutors said Monday while urging any other potential victims to come forward.
Giovanny Campos, 50, of Jamaica, Queens, pleaded not guilty Thursday before Judge Robert McDonald on a grand jury indictment charging him with second-degree kidnapping, third-degree rape, two counts of third-degree criminal sex act and reckless endangerment for the alleged abuse that took place from January to July, prosecutors said.
Campos’ bail was set at $150,000 cash, $300,000 bond, and $1.25 million partially secured bond. If convicted of the top charge, Campos faces a potential maximum of 25 years in prison.
Members of the Nassau County Police Department’s Special Victims Squad arrested Campos at his home in Queens on Sept. 28, prosecutors said.
“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,” Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement. “If you believe or know of someone who may have been victimized by Giovanny Campos, please call the Special Victims Bureau.”
Someone who answered the phone at the office of Campos’ defense attorney, Menachem White, declined to leave a message with White and hung up before saying: “I think you should speak to the district attorney. At this point, we’re not giving any statement."
In a letter to the school community Monday that was shared with Newsday by the district’s public relations firm, Valley Stream schools Superintendent Wayne R. Loper said Campos was “removed by his employer from providing services to the district when the allegations were initially made” and said the district has been “working closely” with law enforcement. Loper said the district used the bus company to provide shuttle service last year.
“The safety of our students is our top priority and we have been in close communication with the involved student’s family and are providing any help they may need,” Loper said, adding: “Our district condemns in absolute terms the horrific crimes this person is accused of.”
Loper said the district encourages any student feeling uneasy about the substance of the allegations to take advantage of the district’s counseling services.
Campos, who was also known to the victim as Giovanny Guzman, was employed as a bus driver with the Cheese Bus Company, prosecutors said.
A person who answered the phone at the Jamaica-based bus company asked a reporter to send an email. No one immediately responded to the email, which asked if Campos was still employed with the company, among other questions.
Campos was assigned to a route from Central High School to North High School in Valley Stream and picked up the student along that route from January to July, prosecutors said.
Campos allegedly raped the teen multiple times, including in a parking lot while still on the bus, prosecutors said. Campos also allegedly transported the girl to his apartment in Jamaica, Queens, to have sex with her, prosecutors said.
The district attorney’s office asked anyone who may have been victimized by Campos to contact the Nassau district attorney's Special Victims Bureau at 516-571-1266.
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
