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School bus driver accused of touching 3 girls inappropriately, Louisiana police say

A Kenner, Louisiana school bus driver accused of sexual battery against three young girls was charged with sexual battery on Feb. 28, police said.
A Kenner, Louisiana school bus driver accused of sexual battery against three young girls was charged with sexual battery on Feb. 28, police said. Photo by Thomas Park via Unsplash

A school bus driver and trusted “family friend” accused of molesting young girls is behind bars, Louisiana police and news outlets reported.

Jeffrey Wetekamm, 60, of Kenner, was arrested Feb. 28 after an investigation into reports that he touched three girls inappropriately, according to the city’s police department.

Wetekamm, who drives for Jefferson Parish Public Schools, is charged with three counts of sexual battery involving victims younger than 13, WDSU and Nola.com reported.

Police said the girls range in age from five to 10 years old and described Wetekamm as a family friend.

McClatchy News reached out to the school district for comment March 2 and was awaiting a response.

A district spokesperson said Wetekamm was put on leave pending an investigation, according to Nola.com.

When they spoke with police, the girls said Wetekamm “had touched each of them on their private area when they were alone with him.” The alleged abuse went on for two years, according to police.

Officers arrested the man at his home and seized his cell phone, which they said contained “incriminating evidence.”

Wetekamm remained in the Jefferson Parish Jail without bond as of March 2, online records show.

Kenner is about 15 miles west of downtown New Orleans.

If you have experienced sexual assault and need someone to talk to, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline for support at 1-800-656-4673 or visit the hotline's online chatroom.

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This story was originally published March 2, 2023 at 1:09 PM with the headline "School bus driver accused of touching 3 girls inappropriately, Louisiana police say."

Tanasia Kenney
Sun Herald
Tanasia is a service journalism reporter at the Charlotte Observer | CharlotteFive, working remotely from Atlanta, Georgia. She covers restaurant openings/closings in Charlotte and statewide explainers for the NC Service Journalism team. She’s been with McClatchy since 2020.
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