Duluth bus driver acquitted of molestation charges
DULUTH, Minn. -- A St. Louis County jury has cleared a school-bus driver who was accused of molesting five female students.
Sixty-three-year-old Jimmy Jerome James of Two Harbors was found not guilty Wednesday of three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. The jury deadlocked on two additional counts.
James says he's relieved, and he knew the truth would come out.
A Duluth News Tribune report cites testimony saying James allowed kids to open the bus door at stops. He was accused of using that opportunity to touch girls in a sexual manner. James denied the contact was sexual.
The judge declared a mistrial on the two other counts. The prosecutor will review the counts and decide whether they should be retried.
The newspaper says prosecutor Nathaniel Stumme was unavailable for immediate comment.