UPDATE:
VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — A former northwestern Indiana school bus driver who authorities say allowed children as young as 11 years old drive a bus has been given probation.
Joandrea McAtee, of Portage, was sentenced Monday to nearly two years of probation. McAtee pleaded guilty in September to felony neglect of a dependent in an agreement with prosecutors.
The 28-year-old McAtee can petition to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor if she completes probation.
The Porter County sheriff's office has said McAtee allowed three students — ages 11, 13 and 17 — to drive the bus for a short distance in a rural area near Valparaiso as she was dropping students off from school in September 2018. McAtee was fired by the Porter Township school district.
ORIGINAL POST:
VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — A former northwestern Indiana school bus driver who authorities say allowed children as young as 11 years old drive a bus has pleaded guilty in an agreement with prosecutors.
Joandrea McAtee, of Portage, who was charged with a felony count of neglect of a dependent, entered the agreement Monday.
The Porter County Sheriff's Office has said McAtee allowed three students to drive the bus last year for a short distance in a rural area near Valparaiso.