CVUSD bus driver accused of molesting student arraigned

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) - A Coachella Valley Unified School District bus driver accused of molesting an elementary school student pleaded not guilty today to lewd acts on a child under 14 years old.

Eric Ochoa Hernandez, 47, of Thermal, was arrested in February following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation at Oasis Elementary School on Avenue 74 in Thermal.

Hernandez was arraigned Thursday before Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Tucker, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for June 12 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

The defendant is free on a $100,000 bond. He's on administrative leave from the school district.

According to a sheriff's arrest warrant declaration, in September, deputies were alerted to the possible sexual abuse of a female student on the afternoon of Aug. 29.

The affidavit alleged that while she was aboard the CVUSD bus to which Hernandez was assigned, waiting for transportation home, the defendant approached her, dropped his pants and "forced the victim to grab his exposed penis."  

Hernandez, who stands 5 feet, 9 inches and weighs 275 pounds, then compelled the child to make a "stroking motion'' before allowing her to remove her hand, court papers alleged.

The victim informed her mother a short time afterward, culminating in forensic interviews during which the girl demonstrated for child welfare agents what had allegedly happened, according to the declaration.

Investigators obtained sufficient evidence for an arrest warrant, served on Hernandez without incident at his residence in mid February. By that time, the district had already placed him on leave.

The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.