By Rachel Baldauf
Some Bladen County parents say the school district should have done more to protect students from a school bus driver who is accused of sexually assaulting several young girls.
The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office began investigating on April 10 after a student told a school employee she was sexually assaulted by David Earl Denkins on the bus on the way to school. Over the next two weeks, after watching security camera footage from Denkins’ bus, investigators identified 11 more elementary school students who were sexually assaulted, according to Amanda Sykes, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.
Denkins, 64, of Tar Heel faces more than 50 sex-offense charges, including more than 10 felony counts of taking indecent liberties with children.
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Denkins, who started working for Bladen County Schools in August 2022, was suspended and then fired in April, according to schools spokesperson Elly Johnson.
Some parents, including some who did not want to go on the record for this story, say their trust in the school district is shaken.
“They should do a better job,” said a parent of a child who accused Denkins of sexual assault. The Border Belt Independent is not naming the parent in an effort to protect the child’s identity. “They should keep a better eye on the kids on the buses.”
Bladen County Schools stores video surveillance footage from school buses for 10 days before it is recorded over, Johnson said. The footage is reviewed randomly and as needed when incidents are reported, she added.
The parent who spoke to the Border Belt Independent said schools should review the footage more thoroughly.
“If they would have done their job and reviewed video footage like once a month just to see what’s going on on the buses, they could have caught this before it happened to my daughter,” the parent said.
The parent said her child immediately told a teacher that she had been abused during her morning bus ride in April. She said the school did not notify her until almost 1 p.m. that day.
“I beat it into my daughter’s head that if someone touches you in a way that you don’t want to be touched, you tell,” she said.
Denkins does not have a criminal history involving sex charges. In 1993, he was sentenced to two years of probation after he was convicted of a fraud-related charge, records show.
Johnson said Bladen County Schools conducts background checks on job candidates before they are hired.
In August, as the sheriff’s office continued to investigate, Denkins faced additional charges: two counts of forcible rape, four counts of first-degree sex offense and two counts of taking indecent liberties with a child. The charges were added after “additional family members” accused Denkins, the sheriff’s office said.
For all the families affected, the healing process will be lengthy, said the parent.
“I don’t feel safe with my daughter anywhere,” she said.
Denkins remains in jail under a multimillion-dollar bond.
