Police say a student’s report, bus video and interviews led to the arrest of a former Irving ISD employee.
IRVING, TX — A former Irving Independent School District bus assistant has been charged with child grooming after police said an 8-year-old student reported inappropriate contact during a ride home from school, a case investigators say could involve more than one child.
Police said the charge against Juan Jose Gonzalez, 75, grew out of a report made this month by a Townsell Elementary School student who told her parents that a bus aide had touched her in a way that made her uncomfortable. The allegation led Irving police and school officials to review video, interview the child and move quickly to identify the employee. Gonzalez was arrested April 9, removed from his school role and, as of the latest public reports, remained in the Dallas County jail on a $25,000 bond while detectives examined whether other students may also have been harmed.
According to police and court records cited by local news outlets, the reported incident happened April 7 during an afternoon route as the child rode home from Jackie Mae Townsell Elementary School. Authorities said the girl told her mother about the encounter that same day. Her parents then reported it to the school district, which notified Irving police on April 8. Detectives said Gonzalez was identified as the suspect that day and fired from his district position. After the department’s Crimes Against Children Unit opened its inquiry, investigators obtained a warrant and arrested him April 9. Maria Herring, a spokesperson for Irving police, said the child “is very brave” for speaking up, describing the outcry as the step that started the criminal case.
Police said an arrest affidavit and surveillance video from inside the bus gave investigators a more detailed account of what they believe happened. Local reports on the affidavit said the girl told interviewers Gonzalez placed his hand on her leg, told her she had pretty hair and adjusted her skirt. Authorities said the bus video appeared to show him touching the child’s thigh multiple times, touching her hair and adjusting the front of her clothing during the ride. One report said the affidavit described the behavior as inconsistent with normal conduct and said it clearly made the child uncomfortable. Gonzalez, who was working as a bus assistant rather than the route’s primary driver, was assigned to help monitor students during transportation. Police have not publicly described any statement from a lawyer for Gonzalez, and it was not clear Friday whether he had entered a plea.
The case has drawn wider attention because investigators said Gonzalez indicated during an interview that there may be additional victims from the time he worked in the district. Police said he had been employed by Irving ISD from February 2023 until April 2026, serving as a substitute assistant on various morning and afternoon routes. That range of assignments has raised concern because it means he could have had contact with students on more than one campus or route over roughly three years. So far, police have publicly identified only one reported child in the current criminal case. Authorities have not said how many buses or students Gonzalez may have regularly encountered, and they have not announced any additional arrests or charges. Those unknowns remain central to the investigation as detectives try to determine whether the accusation described in the affidavit was an isolated event or part of a broader pattern.
Irving ISD has said Gonzalez is no longer employed by the district and that officials are cooperating with police. Public reports indicate the district moved the same day police were notified to remove him from the job. The district has not publicly released a fuller timeline of its internal response, including whether families on affected routes were contacted immediately or whether any additional safeguards were put in place after the allegation surfaced. Bus assistants in school systems often help supervise children during loading, unloading and travel, especially on routes involving younger students or children who need extra help. In this case, investigators said the allegation arose not from a complaint by staff or a routine review of camera footage, but from a child’s account to her family after the ride home. That detail has become a major part of the public reaction, with officials praising the girl for reporting what happened and stressing that the case moved forward because she spoke up quickly.
The legal process is still in its early stages. Gonzalez has been booked on a felony child grooming charge, and the investigation remains active. Police have said the warrant followed review of electronic and video evidence, along with interviews conducted by the Crimes Against Children Unit. It is not yet clear whether prosecutors will seek additional charges tied to the same reported incident, or whether any other alleged victims will be included in later filings. Court dates beyond the arrest and bond information had not been widely published in initial coverage. What comes next is likely to include continued review of bus surveillance, follow-up interviews with potential witnesses and screening of any new tips that reach investigators. Police have already said publicly that they are trying to learn whether any other children had similar experiences during the period Gonzalez worked for the district.
The case has unsettled families in Irving because it centers on a setting many parents treat as an extension of the school day: the bus ride home. The reported conduct did not happen in a private home or after-school meeting, but on a school route in a confined space meant to get children home safely. Herring said the child did the right thing by telling an adult, and police echoed that concern in a public statement saying investigators were trying to determine whether other children may have been victimized. The district’s connection to the case has also sharpened scrutiny of how school systems screen, monitor and supervise transportation staff, especially substitutes and assistants who may rotate among routes. For now, the known facts remain narrow but serious: one girl reported contact on April 7, video was reviewed, a longtime bus aide was fired and arrested within two days, and detectives are now testing whether the case reaches further.
As of Friday, Gonzalez remained the only publicly named defendant in the case, and police had not announced any new charges or victims. The next major milestone will be whatever investigators disclose after reviewing additional evidence and tips in the days ahead.
Author note: Last updated April 18, 2026.