Brentwood man identified as school bus driver accused of sexual contact with child
Parents were informed of the arrest through a letter issued on Wednesday by Superintendent Dennis O’Hara.
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Suffolk police have identified the Islip School District bus driver accused of having sexual contact with a child under the age of 13.
Court documents state that 37-year-old Germis Santos, of Brentwood, was charged with course of sexual conduct in the second degree, sex abuse in the third degree and acting in a manner to injure a child.
Police say Santos knew the victim and the alleged crimes took place between 2021 and 2023. However, it was not immediately known if he was a bus driver at the time the crimes allegedly took place.
Police say they arrested Santos on Sept. 23 and he was arraigned the following day.
Santos pleaded not guilty to all charges and is due back in court on Oct. 15, according to the documents.
Sources tell News 12 that Santos is in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
News 12 reached out to ICE but has not heard back as of Thursday afternoon.
News 12 Reporter Kevin Vesey's Wednesday night report on the arrest of the school bus driver
Parents were informed of the arrest through a letter issued on Wednesday by Superintendent Dennis O’Hara. In the letter, O’Hara stated that the driver was immediately removed from service by Suffolk Transportation Service, the district’s contracted bus company, upon learning of the allegations and arrest.
"This individual was removed from service as soon as our transportation provider learned of the allegations and arrest. He will not return to our district," the letter read. "At this time, we have no information indicating that any students in our district were involved in the charges."
The drive had only been working in the Islip School District for a short time. He operated a single bus route from the first day of school through Sept. 22 — a total of 14 school days.
Thomas Smith, chief operating officer of Suffolk Transportation Service, emphasized that the driver passed all pre-employment screenings.
“We went through our process that we do with every employee that works for our organization and nothing would lead us to a problematic employee,” Smith said.
When asked if the background check came up clean, Smith responded, “Yes.”
According to the school district, those background checks include screenings against the sex offender registry, fingerprint-based checks, and drug and alcohol testing.
Despite these procedures, the arrest has left parents shaken.
“It’s super concerning as a parent,” added Jennifer Bambino, another Islip resident. “They’ve got to get better background checks for stuff like this.”
News 12 Reporter Jenn Seelig's Thursday afternoon report on the arrest of the school bus driver
