Jennings County Teen Convicted in School Bus Assault

Prosecutors said bus video showed the assaults, and the jury watched that footage during the trial.

Justice is served with a gavel and scales of justice in a courtroom — Source: Nadzeya Haroshka / Getty

NORTH VERNON, Ind — A Jennings County teenager has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a younger boy on a school bus last year.

A jury on Wednesday found 16-year-old Landon Doty guilty of 11 felonies, including four counts of rape, and one misdemeanor. Doty was 15 when the assaults happened. The case involved a non-verbal 7-year-old child with autism who rode the same bus. Jurors reached their decision in less than two hours.

Prosecutors said bus video showed the assaults, and the jury watched that footage during the trial. The video was not released publicly. Doty testified and denied the accusations.

The case began in April 2025, when the bus driver and monitor reported seeing the younger child sitting on Doty’s lap. Charges were filed after the prosecutor reviewed hundreds of hours of bus video.

A sentencing date has not been set.