MOLESTING CHARGE ACQUITTAL
A jury acquitted a school bus driver Thursday of a charge that he molested a girl who rode on his bus.
Charles Billa, 40, wiped tears from his eyes after hearing the verdict. Had he been convicted, he would have faced a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison.
“It’s been a lot of stress,” Billa said after the verdict. Billa has been a driver with the Sarasota County School District since 2003, but has been on maintenance-related duty, with no contact with children, since December.
The jury deliberated for about two hours on the charge of lewd or lascivious molestation against a victim younger than 12 by a person over 18.