Months Touching – By Latrishka Thomas
Months Touching Minor
A bus driver has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for the indecent assault of a 12-year-old girl.
Justice Ann Marie Smith handed down the sentence on Thursday against Kenroy Graham, a public bus operator who was found guilty by a jury in February, following a trial that laid bare a sequence of events targeting a young girl travelling alone.
The incident dates back to April 1, 2022, when the 12-year-old victim boarded Graham’s bus at the West Bus Station, bound for Coolidge. Upon disembarking at her stop, the child bumped her head and dropped her headphones. Graham offered to allow her to search for them once he had completed his route and dropped off his remaining passengers.
With his final passenger gone, Graham deviated from his regular route, turning down a side road before bringing the vehicle to a stop. He left his seat, approached the young girl and began asking her personal questions about her age and living situation. He then rubbed her upper thigh, told her he wanted her to be his girlfriend, and asked to perform oral sex on her.
The girl told Graham she needed to go home, at which point he returned to his seat. As she exited the bus, he asked her to keep what had taken place between them a secret.
The minor ran home and immediately disclosed the incident to her aunt. A police report was filed that same day.
At trial, Graham denied all allegations. Delivering an unsworn statement from the dock — a legal option that shielded him from cross-examination — he claimed the entire incident had been fabricated by a rival seeking to push him off his bus route in order to secure more work for themselves.
The jury rejected his defence and returned a guilty verdict.
On Thursday, Justice Ann Marie Smith sentenced Graham to 18 months in prison for the offence which carries a maximum sentence of 5 years.
