Former school bus driver in 2 towns charged with child rape

MARLBOROUGH — A Marlborough man who worked as a school bus driver in Littleton has pleaded not guilty to allegations that he raped a child last year.

The same driver once drove a school bus in Sutton, according to Sutton police.

Derek Thistle, 32, was released on $10,000 bail after his arraignment Friday in Middlesex Superior Court. He was ordered not to have any contact with the victim or any witnesses, to have no unsupervised contact with minors; to not leave the state and to report weekly to the probation department.

According to a release from the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, the alleged incident came to light last July.

The alleged victim, a boy younger than 14, was on FaceTime with Thistle, according to authorities, when Thistle exposed himself to the boy. The victim’s aunt saw what happened and the child said Thistle had sexually assaulted him at Thistle’s home a few months prior to the FaceTime incident.

After an investigation, authorities charged Thistle with forcible rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, indecent assault and battery on a child younger than 14 and open and gross lewdness.

In an email to parents, Littleton Superintendent of Schools Kelly Clenchy said Thistle worked for Shirley-based Dee Bus Service, which provides busing for Littleton.

“The district is deeply troubled by the severity of the charges,” Clenchy wrote. “There is no indication at this time that the allegations involve any child, staff member or faculty member within (Littleton Public Schools).”

Thistle is due back in court May 17. On social media, the Sutton Police Department wrote that the same driver charged in Littleton once drove a school bus in Sutton. Police said that last year he was the subject of complaints from parents about inappropriate behavior.

“While we determined there were no crimes that had taken place after our investigation of their complaints, we did follow up with the bus company to report what we believed was still inappropriate behavior by the driver,” Sutton police wrote on Facebook. “At that time, we advised the bus company that the driver in question was no longer welcome to transport students at our district.”

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/ NormanMillerCrime.