Grafton School Bus Driver Accused of Kidnapping, Endangering Students
A 54-year-old bus driver for a charter company serving the Grafton Public Schools is facing multiple charges after allegedly kidnapping and endangering two students. Redi Gace, of Worcester, has been arraigned on charges of kidnapping children, reckless endangerment, felony intimidation, and withholding evidence.
According to court records, Gace disabled cameras that recorded video, audio, and GPS information on his routes, making it difficult for authorities to track his movements. On December 22, a parent reported that their child arrived home about half an hour late than scheduled, prompting the school district to investigate. The bus company's review of the bus's video, audio, and GPS data identified Gace as the driver.
GPS data showed that there was only one child on the bus at the time, a 5-year-old non-verbal boy, who was supposed to be driven home from school. However, Gace allegedly deviated from his assigned route and made an unauthorized stop. The boy could be heard crying on audio for about 10 minutes before the camera turned off.
Gace dropped the boy off approximately 29 minutes late, with authorities determining that he had purposefully confined him without lawful authority and "for no explained or legitimate reason." In another instance, Gace accessed a compartment within the bus and appeared to deactivate an interior video camera, prompting authorities to believe he was trying to prevent digital documentation.
The girl could be heard saying four minutes later that she wanted to go home, at which point the bus was started up again and Gace drove away. She was dropped off six minutes late from the assigned time, with "no valid explanation" for why Gace deviated from the route.
Gace has pleaded not guilty and is being held on $50,000 bail. He faces several charges, including multiple counts of kidnapping children, one count of reckless endangerment of a child, one count of felony intimidation, and one count of withholding evidence. If he makes bail and is released, he will be prohibited from having contact with anyone under 16 and placed on house arrest with GPS monitoring.
The Grafton Police Department announced Gace's arrest but did not identify him by name in their statement. They confirmed that the investigation is still ongoing and that "additional charges may be forthcoming." The school district has contacted the families of all students who may have had contact with Gace, and anyone with information about the investigation or concerns about their child is urged to contact Detective Sergeant Daniel Wenc at 508-839-2858.
A 54-year-old bus driver for a charter company serving the Grafton Public Schools is facing multiple charges after allegedly kidnapping and endangering two students. Redi Gace, of Worcester, has been arraigned on charges of kidnapping children, reckless endangerment, felony intimidation, and withholding evidence.
According to court records, Gace disabled cameras that recorded video, audio, and GPS information on his routes, making it difficult for authorities to track his movements. On December 22, a parent reported that their child arrived home about half an hour late than scheduled, prompting the school district to investigate. The bus company's review of the bus's video, audio, and GPS data identified Gace as the driver.
GPS data showed that there was only one child on the bus at the time, a 5-year-old non-verbal boy, who was supposed to be driven home from school. However, Gace allegedly deviated from his assigned route and made an unauthorized stop. The boy could be heard crying on audio for about 10 minutes before the camera turned off.
Gace dropped the boy off approximately 29 minutes late, with authorities determining that he had purposefully confined him without lawful authority and "for no explained or legitimate reason." In another instance, Gace accessed a compartment within the bus and appeared to deactivate an interior video camera, prompting authorities to believe he was trying to prevent digital documentation.
The girl could be heard saying four minutes later that she wanted to go home, at which point the bus was started up again and Gace drove away. She was dropped off six minutes late from the assigned time, with "no valid explanation" for why Gace deviated from the route.
Gace has pleaded not guilty and is being held on $50,000 bail. He faces several charges, including multiple counts of kidnapping children, one count of reckless endangerment of a child, one count of felony intimidation, and one count of withholding evidence. If he makes bail and is released, he will be prohibited from having contact with anyone under 16 and placed on house arrest with GPS monitoring.
The Grafton Police Department announced Gace's arrest but did not identify him by name in their statement. They confirmed that the investigation is still ongoing and that "additional charges may be forthcoming." The school district has contacted the families of all students who may have had contact with Gace, and anyone with information about the investigation or concerns about their child is urged to contact Detective Sergeant Daniel Wenc at 508-839-2858.
This dude's actions are straight outta a horror movie 
. I mean, who does this? A grown man's job is to transport kids safely, not kidnap them 
. And what's worse is that he was doing it for like 10 whole minutes before the camera turned off 
. That poor kid must've been terrified 
. The fact that our schools can't even trust their bus drivers with basic safety measures is just unacceptable 
.
. As a parent, the thought of your child being taken from you without any explanation is unbearable. How would any kid be able to process what happened? The fact that Gace disabled cameras and GPS tracking on his bus makes me think he was trying to cover up something 
. But what about the kids' emotional trauma? How will they recover from being kidnapped and held against their will? We need to make sure these children get the support and counseling they deserve 
. And as a community, we should be outraged that someone could do this in plain sight without anyone noticing or speaking up 
. This is just heartbreaking 
.
that little boy is still shaking in his sleep thinking about it 
. i dont know how they let this guy behind the wheel 
the fact that he disabled cameras and GPS tracking is just mind-blowing 
. redi gace has no chance of getting out of jail 
with all these serious charges against him 
50k bail is like a joke 
. i hope justice is served ASAP 
But, like, seriously though, this guy's supposed to be watching kids all day and he's just letting them wander around wherever?! That's some major red flag right there 
. anyway, 50k bail seems pretty reasonable considering he put two kids in harm's way 
, you know? first they silence cameras on the bus to hide what's goin' down, then they find out Gace is the one and suddenly he's a bad guy? seems like we're just bein' fed a narrative here. what if this was all set up by someone else in power to get rid of him for some unknown reason? 
. And 29 minutes late for a 5-year-old? That's just heartbreaking 
. This is a huge red flag for school bus safety, and I hope this driver gets the maximum punishment he deserves 
. We need to make sure our schools are prioritizing student safety above all else 
. What's next? GPS hacking? This is not good at all 
. And now he's facing charges for kidnapping and endangering kids 
... it's just a recipe for disaster 
. It's all about accountability, I guess 
.
Like, what a total bummer that this happened in our 'safe' school system... I mean, who expects their kid's bus driver to just take off on some wild solo adventure? 
And not even bothering to check the cameras? What a professional move... Redi Gace, 54 years old and still thought he could outsmart everyone. Poor little non-verbal boy, stuck in that bus for who knows how long... 
hope he gets the help he needs. Anyway, I'm sure it's just a case of someone being 'off' one day... or maybe just someone being really reckless 
.
. What was his work history like? Had any complaints filed against him? And what about those cameras he disabled? Was it just a coincidence or did someone else know what was going on? Asking for a friend... 