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Gaithersburg resident Etienne Kabongo, 67, was found guilty by a jury on Thursday, Feb. 9 to multiple counts of rape and sexual abuse of a minor after one of his victims came forward and several other victims were identified during the investigation.
A driver for Montgomery County Public Schools, officials said that one of Kabongo’s victims came forward following an incident in July 2018, launching an investigation by the Montgomery County Department of Police.
During that investigation, police say that by using school bus surveillance footage, they were able to identify multiple incidents involving three additional students.
Two of the bus driver’s victims were underage and two others were 18 years old at the time of the abuse.
According to prosecutors, Kabongo has maintained that he is not criminally responsible for his actions due to a. mental disorder, but on Thursday, a jury found him complicit in the crimes.
“Etienne Kabongo was entrusted with the safety of some of the most vulnerable members of our community and he violated that trust, using his position to sexually abuse the nonverbal students for which he was responsible,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in a statement.
“Thank you to Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Rubinstein for his work in holding this defendant accountable. We are grateful that justice has prevailed and hope it provides some comfort for the victims and their families.”
Kabongo pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree rape and two counts of sexual abuse of a minor. When he is sentenced next month, Kabongo will face up to 40 years in prison.
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