Former Richmond Hill school bus driver charged with criminal harassment of teen girl

A former Richmond Hill bus driver has been charged after allegedly harassing a teen girl he had previously driven to school.

York Regional Police began their investigation in late July after a 14-year-old girl came forward with several reports when she had feared for her safety.

The teen told police that as she was getting off the school bus a month earlier, the driver had asked her to stay behind to speak to her. He had reportedly asked for her personal information, including her phone number, and wanted her to be a model for him in a business proposal.

The girl said she had given a false number and ran off the bus. The bus driver was fired as a result of the incident.

York police say on July 22nd, the girl reported two phone calls that were made to her house from the former bus driver.

This past week, officers responded to the girl’s home after she reported two incidents of seeing him standing by a mailbox near her home when she had gotten off the school bus.

Police say 52-year-old Ren “Jonathon” Zhang, of Richmond Hill, has been charged with criminal harassment. He is scheduled to appear at a Newmarket court on October 4.

A photo of the suspect has been released to ensure there are no other victims in the police investigation. Police said Zhang is known to have operated a school bus from December 2015 to the end of June 2017.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7241, or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).