A 15-year-old Indiana teen has been charged as an adult after he allegedly sexually assaulted a 7-year-old boy with autism on a Jennings County school bus.
Court documents filed on June 9, 2025, claim that Landon Doty, the teenage suspect, allegedly raped and molested a nonverbal child multiple times for over a period of days.
Surveillance footage from the bus reportedly captured several incidents, which were later reviewed by police.
A juvenile probation officer with 39 years of experience called Doty’s actions “the worst he’s seen in his career,” according to Fox59.com.
He also labeled him a predator because of how often the attacks happened.
According to police reports, Doty would stop assaulting the child if he thought someone on the bus would notice him.
He would then continue with the crime once he felt no one was watching.
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| Landon Doty (Source: Fox59.com) |
The abuse was discovered on April 17, 2025, when a bus monitor saw Doty pushing the 7-year-old off his lap.
After alerting the driver to pull over, the bus monitor went over and separated the two boys.
The monitor immediately reported the incident to school officials, and when they reviewed the bus camera footage, they discovered the abuse.
The local police department was immediately notified, and a criminal investigation was launched.
Detectives from the North Vernon Police (NVPD) picked up Doty from school, handcuffed him, and walked him to a patrol car
While he was being arrested, he quietly said, “I’m basically screwed.”
According to Fox59.com, Doty had some behavioral issues, which is why he was placed on a bus that transported autistic children.
On June 12, 2025, Doty was formally charged as an adult with 12 felony counts, including:
- Four counts of rape
- Two counts of child molesting
- Four counts of sexual battery
- One count of criminal confinement (involving a victim under 14)
- One count of public indecency
Rape and child molesting are Level 3 felonies in Indiana, and they carry a maximum sentence of 16 years and a $10,000 fine.
According to court documents, Doty cannot be reformed through the juvenile justice system and that, for the safety and well-being of the community, he should be tried as an adult.
The victim’s family has filed a tort claim against Jennings County School Corporation, accusing the district of negligence and failing to protect their son.
“This nightmare tragedy should never have happened. How could both the bus driver and the additional bus monitor aide not notice anything?” — Laura Swafford, attorney for the victim’s family.
Their attorneys argue that both the bus driver and monitor failed to intervene, despite video evidence of the assaults.
The school district released a statement on April 29, 2025, calling the allegations heartbreaking and outlining new safety measures, including:
- Adding more adult supervisors on special needs buses
- Reducing student capacity per bus
- Enforcing individual seating when possible
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