School bus driver used position, social media to get to student, report says
A 24-year-old substitute bus driver with the Clark County School District used his position and social media “to further a sexual relationship” with a 17-year-old student, according to an arrest report obtained Wednesday by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The driver, Dominique Joiner, admitted to performing at least two sex acts with the girl, a high school senior, according to the report. The girl also told detectives the driver asked her for at least 17 nude or partially nude images — along with a sexually explicit video — on social media applications including Snapchat and Facebook Messenger.
Joiner, who was arrested Monday, told police “he thought he could have sex” with the girl because she was older than 16, despite having seen the district’s required training videos, the report read. The report notes Joiner also had a girlfriend at the time.
He is being held on $125,000 bail at the Clark County Detention Center and faces two counts of sexual conduct between a school employee and pupil, two counts of kidnapping and one count of use of a minor for child pornography.
Ongoing issue
Joiner is the 13th school district employee arrested after reports of sexual misconduct or inappropriate behavior since July. The issue was explored in the Review-Journal’s recent Broken Trust series.
As a substitute bus driver, Joiner filled in on several bus routes throughout the valley. He drove on a route for Northwest Career and Technical Academy, where the girl attends school, at least 14 times between January and March, and that’s where they met, the girl told police.
Just before he was transferred to a different route, Joiner told detectives the girl added him on Snapchat.
At least two other girls on the Northwest Career and Technical Academy bus route added him on Snapchat, he said. On a separate occasion, a Findlay Middle School student gave him her phone number, the report said. Joiner said he never met with those girls outside of his bus route.
Employment history
The district first hired Joiner in August 2015, and he began working as a substitute bus driver in October 2015.
At the time of his arrest, Joiner was working as a special education bus driver, the report said. He has since been suspended without pay.
A hearing on his case is scheduled for Friday morning.
Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @rachelacrosby on Twitter.
Broken Trust investigation
The Clark County School District’s lack of a social media policy was one of the key findings highlighted in the Las Vegas Review Journal’s three-part series on sexual misconduct involving staffers and students. At least eight of the suspects fostered their relationships with students through texting or social media, according to police records.
Earlier this year, the district created a 27-member internal working group to work on a social media policy. A draft of the policy will be unveiled June 15 at a public meeting at Chaparral High School. The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
