Bacon County school board addresses bus monitor’s arrest

ALMA, Ga. (WTOC) — The Bacon County Board of Education publicly addressed the arrest of a former school bus monitor for the first time Tuesday night, during a meeting that lasted less than 15 minutes.

Jerry Alvin Sweat, 70, a former Bacon County school bus monitor and Alma City Council member, is accused of showing pornographic material to children on a school bus.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Former Bacon County bus monitor charged with exhibiting harmful materials to minors

Timeline of investigation

A bus driver informed school officials on Sept. 23 that Sweat was viewing inappropriate content on his phone, according to Sweat’s termination letter, which WTOC obtained through a records request.

After an internal investigation, the school district said Sweat admitted to the allegations and was terminated the following day.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the school district’s police requested its assistance on Oct. 7 to investigate claims that Sweat showed pornographic materials to children under the age of 16 while working as a bus monitor.

Sweat turned himself in to law enforcement on Oct. 13. The GBI arrested and charged Sweat on Tuesday with exhibiting harmful materials to minors.

Board response

Bacon County Board of Education Chair Lisa Hughes detailed the timeline of events that led to Sweat’s arrest during Tuesday’s meeting.

“It was brought to the attention of our school district’s leadership staff that an incident of an inappropriate nature occurred on one of our school buses. An internal investigation was conducted and the employee was terminated within 24 hours of the incident,” Hughes said.

“The chief of police investigated the incident and due to the seriousness of the alleged incident as well as Mr. Sweat’s official position in this community he believed it was appropriate to ask for the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations,” Hughes said.

Hughes said the school system’s number one priority is to keep students safe.

Investigation ongoing

The investigation remains active and ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GBI.