Bus bosses have been praised by a senior child protection official for the prompt and professional way that they dealt with a paedophile driver from Brighton.
The plaudit came after Mark Spalding, 29, of Whitehawk Road, Brighton, was jailed for nine years at Hove Crown Court today (Tuesday 15 August).
Spalding pleaded guilty to eight charges of grooming and sexually abusing two girls and two women students from overseas while working as a bus driver.
The girls were 13 to 15 years old at the time of the offences, which included inciting them to sexual behaviour and sexual assault.
Brighton and Hove Buses managing director Martin Harris said: “What happened while Mark Spalding worked for us with our customers is utterly vile.
“We can only offer our humblest apologies to our customers – and especially his victims – who trusted us to provide a bus service on which they could travel in complete safety.
“It was Brighton and Hove Buses that referred Spalding to the police and we’re heartened that today he’s been given a custodial sentence for his disgusting acts.
“Within 15 minutes of us having the evidence we removed him from duty so he was no longer a danger to our customers.
“The safety of our customers is paramount. We ask driver recruits to disclose all unspent convictions on their application form.
“We carry out enhanced criminal record checks – rather than a basic check – on all employees who work regularly with children and vulnerable adults.
“These tell us about any offences carried out over a prolonged period including spent convictions.
“We now have a safeguarding policy – a kind of heightened alert system for the whole organisation – and we’ve put a director in charge of it.
“And we’re the only bus company in the country, to our knowledge, that has a Special Constable – the product of a unique partnership with Sussex Police – acting as a key link between the bus company and the police force and who patrols our buses to help ensure the safety and welfare of our customers. We also have CCTV on every bus.”
The steps taken by the bus company were praised by Graham Bartlett, the independent chair of the Brighton and Hove Local Safeguarding Children Board.
Mr Bartlett, the former police commander of Brighton and Hove, said: “The abhorrent predatory behaviour of Mark Spalding who, as a bus driver, women and girls should have been able to trust, has rightly been punished today.
“The Brighton and Hove Local Safeguarding Children Board are heartened by the swift and decisive action taken by Brighton and Hove Buses as soon as his offending came to light.
“They immediately removed him from duty and alerted the police.
“This is an example of how safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility and it is within everyone’s gift to recognise and report offending behaviour leading to the protection of others.”
Spalding worked as a bus driver out of the Lewes Road depot for just over seven years, having joined in August 2008.
He resigned during his disciplinary investigation for gross misconduct in November 2015.
Today he was told that he would serve at least three years of his nine-year sentence in prison and the rest on licence.
He has signed the sex offenders’ register and is the subject of a sexual harm prevention order.
Judge Shani Barnes, the honorary recorder of Brighton and Hove, told him: “You present a high risk of harm to children.”
Should be longer sentence. Drug dealers get longer
Well done to Brighton and Hove Buses. Having lived in places with an abysmal bus service, I’m generally quite impressed with this company and the Big Lemon. Data protection rules and privacy rights make it hard to get the balance right with information about staff but the bus company looks like it’s got its priorities – and the balance – right.