Per the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office:
Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, before the Honorable David Lease, a jury found defendant, Etienne Kabongo, 67, of Gaithersburg, criminally responsible for the sexual abuse of four females with special needs.
Kabongo pleaded guilty to two counts of Second-Degree Rape and two counts of Sexual Abuse of a Minor for the abuse of four female victims who rode the bus he drove for Montgomery County Public Schools. One of the victims came forward after an incident in July of 2018 and a Montgomery County Police investigation resulted in the discovery of school bus surveillance footage of multiple incidents involving three additional victims. Two of the girls were minors at the time and the other two were both 18-years old.
The defendant had maintained that he was not criminally responsible due to an alleged mental disorder, but today the jury found he is indeed responsible for these crimes. Kabongo faces up to 40 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is set for March 30th 2023.
“Etienne Kabongo was entrusted with the safety of some of the most vulnerable members of our community and he violated that trust, using his position to sexually abuse the nonverbal students for which he was responsible. Thank you to Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Rubinstein for his work in holding this defendant accountable. We are grateful that justice has prevailed and hope it provides some comfort for the victims and their families,” said State’s Attorney John McCarthy.