Attorneys expect a resolution next week in the criminal case of Alexander Rodriquez, the 35-year-old bus driver charged with raping a student in a motel.
His attorney, Johnny Houston, made the announcement Tuesday in Hamilton County Criminal Court. Houston could not comment afterward, but at this point in the criminal proceedings, attorneys will either draw up a plea agreement, set a trial date or drop the charges altogether. Rodriquez next appears July 21 before Judge Barry Steelman to address his aggravated statutory rape charge.
Police say a 15-year-old at Sale Creek Middle/High School boarded Rodriquez’s bus after school, rode with him to the loading station, then got into his car on March 4, 2015. They stopped at the Super 8 Hotel on 8934 Lee Highway, records show. Then, alone, in a room, Rodriquez forced the teen to perform oral sex and raped her, she told investigators.
The minor told deputies that at some point that evening, Rodriquez received a call from investigators, who asked if he knew where the girl was. After hanging up, Rodriquez hustled her out of the hotel, drove the minor to the Birchwood area, then made her get out. It took an hour for her to walk home, she told investigators. Records show she got home at 10:16 p.m.
Rodriquez, indicted on the aggravated statutory rape charge in May 2015, originally was given a $350,000 bond. Later, though, a judge reduced the bond to $15,000 and ordered Rodriquez to wear a monitoring device as he traveled back and forth for his new position with M&S Trucking Crew, an area transport company.
In March, the minor’s legal guardians filed a $10 million lawsuit against Rodriquez in Hamilton County Circuit Court, claiming they had suffered emotional trauma, lost wages and irreparable damage to their relationship with the girl since the March 2015 incident.
The lawsuit also accuses the Hamilton County Board of Education, Durham School Services and National Express of negligence for improperly supervising Rodriquez. Durham School Services – contracted to provide the majority of buses and drivers for the county during Rodriquez’s arrest – is a division of National Express, a corporation headquartered in Warrenville, Ill.
Catherine White, the attorney representing the minor’s legal guardians, said she is still gathering information in the case.
In a motion filed earlier this month, White urged Durham School Services and the Hamilton County Board of Education to answer several questions, including whether any complaints were filed against Rodriquez, whether the company had a nepotism policy in effect, and whether anyone performed a criminal background check on Rodriquez. She submitted the questions in April and May, the suit states.
If the agencies don’t answer, White could depose them to answer the questions – typically without a judge present. Either way, attorneys will address the motions Monday at 9 a.m. before Circuit Court Judge L. Marie Williams, clerks said.
As for Rodriquez, records show he has no other pending cases or convictions in Hamilton County.
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow @zackpeterson918.