Action News Jax has learned a former Student Transportation of America bus driver accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student who rode his bus is now in custody at the Duval County Jail.
Gregory Strigglers, 31, now faces charges of lewd conduct with a student and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
Action News Jax first broke this story and the allegations against the former STA driver on Thursday after Action News Jax Reporter Deja Mayfield sat down with the victim’s aunt.
Mayfield has been combing through the arrest report, which shows that one day after our original report, a judge signed off on a warrant for the arrest of Gregory Strigglers.
Strigglers turned himself into police just before 1 a.m. Tuesday and during his interview with investigators, Strigglers told them that he believed the victim was 21 years old.
We first brought you this story last week after hearing from Natalie Lacey, the aunt of the 17-year-old victim.
Lacey told us she first discovered evidence of a possible sexual relationship in text messages and Instagram direct messages.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
After she reported the incident to STA, she told us she was contacted by detectives with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and investigators with Florida’s Department of Children and Families.
But Lacey said after her initial report, no one from the bus company reached out to check on her niece, and she was frustrated because of it.
Lacey spoke to us again on Tuesday after hearing about Strigglers’ arrest.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
“You don’t know the trauma that a child lives and I’m glad that justice is being served now. I’m going to be at every court date that they have here going forward because he needs to be held accountable,” Lacey said.
We reached out to STA following the news of Strigglers’ arrest. A spokesperson with the company responded, saying they had no comment. The company did tell us last week that Strigglers no longer works for STA.
Lacey went on to say she’s just happy Strigglers is in jail and that her niece can finally start the process of healing.
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
