P.E.I. mom wants son's bus stop moved away from sex offender's home

A mother in Queens County, P.E.I., wants her 10-year-old son's school bus stop moved away from the home of a registered sex offender.

The man is serving 135 days of house arrest for sexually assaulting a woman.

The boy's stop is across the road from the man's house.

Because of her work schedule, Kerri Kelly said she is unable to wait for the bus with her son, and is concerned for his safety.

'Pitch black' in morning

"I just don't feel like it's a safe place for my son to be at alone in the morning just to be able to go to school," she said.

"My son is out of visibility, I cannot see him. On our road there are no street lights, and early in the morning when his pick up is scheduled, it is pitch black."

The bus used to drive to the end of the road after school and drop her son off at her parent's house, but Kelly said the school board disallowed it in 2015 after a complaint.

She has now gathered signaturesfrom her neighbours saying they support allowing the bus to go down the road again, and has forwarded it to the Public Schools Branch.

Working on resolution

The Public Schools Branch said it is open to working with the family to find a resolution, but it might take some time.

"We are making every effort to try and work with her to resolve the issuein the interest of this child, and that includes our looking at an alternate location for the stop," said Parker Grimmer, director of the Public School's Branch.

"An additional stop might require some assessment and some work to make sure it's as physically safe a location to stop the bus as is the present one."

Kelly hopes a solution is found soon.

"I would really love to see my son have the independence he needs at 10 years old to be able to safely walk to a bus stop and not worry what is going to happen to him."

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