School bus driver attacks 5- and 6-year-olds while driving them home, NH cops say

A school bus driver in charge of driving students with disabilities attacked three of the young children while bringing them home in New Hampshire, police said. The attacks were caught on video.

Virene Poliquin, 68, of Hudson, assaulted one child seven times and assaulted two others once on Feb. 17, Hudson Police Chief Tad Dionne said at a March 7 news conference live-streamed by WMUR-TV.

The assaults on the 5- and 6-year-olds included slapping, kicking, grabbing, covering a mouth with her hand, and pouring water on one child, according to Dionne, who described Poliquin’s actions as “disturbing.”

Authorities arrested Poliquin on nine counts of simple assault, Dionne said. She posted $500 bail and is due in court for an arraignment of April 6.

Poliquin had worked for Durham School Services, the company that operates the bus she was driving the day of the assaults, since 2017 but is no longer employed there, school district Superintendent of Schools Dan Moulis said at the news conference.

“I’ve been a police officer a long time…there are not too many events that make me pause when reviewing a case,” Dionne said. “This incident did so.”

“The victims in this case are among our most vulnerable.”

He said police are now investigating whether Poliquin assaulted students on other dates.

Authorities started their investigation after a parent complained to the Hudson School District on Feb. 20 saying a bus driver threw water on a student, according to Dionne. The district immediately notified police, he said.

Dionne confirmed that audio and video recording captured the assaults on Feb. 17. But he said police weren’t going to release the recordings.

The students who were assaulted weren’t injured, according to Dionne.

Hudson is about 45 miles west of Boston.

This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 2:24 PM with the headline "School bus driver attacks 5- and 6-year-olds while driving them home, NH cops say."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.