A company that employed a paedophile driver has been stopped from providing transport services to State schools, the Education Ministry said.
Silverstar Transport had its operator’s licence revoked by a Magistrate’s Court after company director Renè Zammit admitted employing a driver whose name was on the sex offenders’ register.
During the last scholastic year, Silverstar operated 15 routes as one of various companies which form part of the UTS Consortium, which provides the government’s school transport.
“The Education Ministry has written to UTS to ensure that, for the coming scholastic year, Silverstar is not given any school transport routes in relation to service provision to State schools,” a ministry spokesman confirmed.
The Education Ministry has written to UTS to ensure that Silverstar is not given any school transport routes in relation to service provision to State schools
He said members of UTS had to be in possession of a national operator licence or community licence issued by Transport Malta. All drivers also had to be compliant with regulations that impose good conduct as a condition.
Sex predator John Vella’s name was included on the sex offenders’ list in March when he was convicted of defiling children. One of the conditions was that he could not be near children or be employed in a job that brought him into direct contact with children.
However, in May, Mr Vella, 66, was spotted by police driving a school van and had his tag taken away while Mr Zammit was cautioned about the restrictions his driver faced.
The caution fell on deaf ears and a day later Mr Vella was again sent out on a school run, which prompted the police to take criminal action.
Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech fined Mr Zammit and withdrew all his licences.
Mr Zammit was charged with having employed Mr Vella to transport schoolchildren in breach of the Child Protection Act and with having failed to keep proper records of his business. He was also accused of having breached the conditions of a previous court sentence.
Mr Zammit had been in and out of court in connection with offences related to the transport industry since 2005.
The magistrate fined Mr Vella €3,000 and gave him a two-year suspended jail term extended by a further four years after he admitted breaching the conditions of a court judgment handed down in March.
Mr Vella was also accused of having failed to notify Transport Malta of his conviction and of having committed the crime during the operative term of the suspended sentence handed down in March. Mr Zammit and Mr Vella pleaded guilty to all the charges brought against them. They may still appeal the judgment.