Alan Johnson went on to carry out a sex attack on a vulnerable 12-year-old girl in Greater Manchester last year.
It was only when the 57-year-old was jailed at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court that his criminal past emerged.
He had two convictions for indecent exposure in 1974 and 1984. Judge Peter Lakin ordered an inquiry by education services into how he landed a job involving the care of young children.
The bus company which employed Johnson - Gorton-based Belle Vue Manchester - said they would not have taken him on had his previous convictions been made known.
New legislation recommending a check with the Criminal Records Bureau on anyone looking after children came into force in 2002.
Johnson had been working for the company for 12 years and bosses admitted CRB checks were only carried out on new employees.
They said some checks were carried out when Johnson applied for private hire and coach driver licences, but they failed to pick up his previous convictions.
The mother of the girl, who cannot be named, told the M.E.N: "I was amazed when I heard his previous convictions in court. I was very upset. He was grooming her for six months. It's obvious his intention was something far worse.
"The authorities should have carried out the right checks. They should have known about his history and he should not have been allowed to be a school-run bus driver."Johnson, of Newton Heath, was jailed for a year, ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for seven years and banned from working with children for life after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13. The school, which also cannot be named to prevent the girl from being identified, had acted to improve poor behaviour on the school bus by getting a permanent driver who would build a relationship with the pupils so he could identify and report unruly children.
On behalf of the school, the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive gave the contract to Belle Vue Manchester, who gave the job to Johnson, a father of three and an experienced driver. He was finally brought to justice after the victim told her sister, who informed their mother.
The victim's mother added: "He was brought in to help improve the behaviour of some of the pupils. There had been a few problems.
"People made complaints and they came up with this idea. They were encouraging a relationship with this man and he wasn't properly police-checked.
"The bus company should have done a proper criminal record check and the school should have requested confirmation that it had been done."
A spokesman for the Home Office confirmed officials at the Criminal Records Bureau would look for any convictions no matter how old they were. Tweet
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im an ex driver myself and reading this does`nt surprise me these bus companies will put anybody capable of driving on these type of runs. at the end of the day its all about money they dont care who drives the bus as long as the job gets done.its the same every day.you just have to pass most school buses and you see young children stood at the front or sat next to the front screen.these companies put notices up at work, drivers even get them on there payslips about people standing near the front but this is just ignored by most drivers.and if they do get caught nothing much happens to them and they still do it.so if you want your kids to be safe its easier and safer to take them yourself .it seem to always be male drivers that do this type of offence so why dont they just let the women drivers do this type of job.problem solved.
Hey mothers! Stop taking your child to school in that gas-guzzler 4x4. Put them on the school 'bus where some evil beast can maul them! No doubt there will be wringing of hands, weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. 'Lessons have been learned and measures put in place to see it never happens again'! What happened to the one time requirement for vulnerable people to have chaperones on such transport?
Did the bus company ask the Home office to check with the CRB or not? The HO claim any official request checks the full register at the CRB well in this case it didnt happen. Then we do sometimes wonder why teenagers and young children show contempt for adults who are supposed to protect them. Shouldnt the bus company also be prosecuted for failing to comply with the rules they put the safety of these schoolchildren at risk.
I think the parents have a right to sue the bus company for not protecting these children. They think this is a big joke. Can the home office fine this company for not doing it's leagal duty. My daughter was a passenger on Belle vue manchester limited . Not any more... Thank god ..