Two families claim their children with special needs were sexually assaulted by school van driver

By Brittany Hope

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    EL DORADO COUNTY, California (KCRA) — Two more families have come forward with sexual assault allegations against a former El Dorado County Office of Education van driver, who is currently in jail on sexual assault-related charges in connection to two adults with disabilities.

Tarik Manasrah, 42, was arrested by the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office in August 2023.

Omar Qureshi and Will Horowitz, with Qureshi Law in Los Angeles, filed a complaint in the El Dorado County Superior Court on behalf of two children whose guardians said Manasrah sexually assaulted them while they were passengers in his van.

The complaint names the El Dorado County Office of Education and the Buckeye Union School District as defendants, claiming negligence.

The complaint claims an 8-year-old boy, who is autistic and nonverbal, was raped by Manasrah and tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease. That family claims their child was often being picked up early and dropped off late by Manasrah without explanation from EDCOE.

The other alleged victim is a 4-year-old boy with an educationally related health impairment for ADHD and speech articulation.

The 4-year-old’s mother spoke one-on-one with KCRA 3 and said her son revealed to her and his counselors that Manasrah sexually assaulted him and “touched him in the privates in front and back.”

“As far as justice, it happened, so for me, I look forward into the aspect of, how can we prevent other students, other children, and other special populations be protected?” mother Kaitlyn Neumann said. “How can we have procedures in place through EDCOE, school systems, whatever, that protects that population?”

Neumann said she reported her son’s sexual assault to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office and that she had spoken with the District Attorney’s Office.

The complaint also alleges that the defendants didn’t investigate “red flags” before and during Manasrah’s employment, including complaints from parents. It also claims Manasrah was using a rag to cover up the camera in his van.

KCRA 3 reached out to the District Attorney’s Office, asking if it was aware of the new allegations and if new criminal charges could be filed on top of the criminal charges they already filed against Manasrah for the two adults with disabilities. A spokesperson told KCRA 3 via email Tuesday: “We have a pending criminal case, so we have given you all the information we can discuss at this time. “

The Buckeye Union School District did not get back to KCRA 3 with comment as of Tuesday evening.

The El Dorado County Office of Education told KCRA 3 that Manasrah was cleared through the required background checks with the state’s Department of Justice and the FBI during the hiring process.

Although they said they could not comment on the new pending litigation, EDCOE did send the following statement:

“The El Dorado County Office of Education (EDCOE) is deeply saddened by the serious and disturbing allegations. The safety and well-being of our students are paramount priorities for EDCOE. Any allegations of misconduct are taken extremely seriously.

It is imperative to clarify that EDCOE was not made aware of the allegations until an arrest was made by the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office on August 4, 2023. Since the time of the arrest, EDCOE has cooperated fully with the investigation.

While we must respect the ongoing legal process and refrain from commenting on specific details of the case, we want to assure our community that we remain committed to transparency, accountability, and providing support to those affected.

We will continue to offer our full cooperation with law enforcement to ensure a thorough investigation is conducted.”

The attorneys representing the two children with special needs are looking for other potential victims or other information that could help them in this case.

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