May 13, 2008 5:04 pm US/Eastern
School Van Driver Accused Of Raping Autistic Child
BROOKLINE (WBZ) ―
A school van driver is under arrest in Brookline, accused of raping a young autistic girl.
Israel Santiago, 41 of Roslindale, will be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Brookline Municipal Court.
Investigators allege Santiago assaulted the 12-year-old girl in a parking lot Friday afternoon as she was being driven home from school in a van operated by YCN Transportation Inc.
The girl's mother called police Sunday morning.
Police are now looking into other possible sexual assaults involving Santiago and the girl, who is a student at an elementary school in Brookline.
Santiago is charged with two counts of aggravated rape, kidnapping and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years of age.
Police say YCN Transportation, based in Norwood, has been very cooperative in their investigation.
According to the company's
Web site, YCN transports children and adults with special needs to various schools and day programs.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
