School Driver Charged After NBC5 Reveals Criminal Past

Despite history of child sex offense, cabbie drove students for several schools

A driver for one of Chicago's largest suburban cab companies, 303 Cab, has been charged with falsifying his application to be a school driver, by failing to disclose his conviction in the 1993 criminal sexual assault of a thirteen-year-old girl.

Jean Juste was one of scores of local taxi drivers--revealed in an NBC5 Investigation--who regularly transport schoolchildren alone in their cabs, despite questionable pasts.

NBC5 Investigates found that a surprising number of school districts in suburban Chicago have contracts with taxi companies to transport many of their students--often students with special needs who have individualized schedules.  NBC5 found that about one out of every ten of those drivers has arrests or convictions for crimes ranging from domestic battery to public indency to assault. 

Among those questionable drivers was Juste, who was certified as a child sex offender in a 1994 court order in Cook County Criminal Court..  Juste was later convicted of selling cocaine.  As a result of NBC5's investigation, the Secretary of State's police launched its own probe, following Juste in his cab as he picked up and dropped off students at local schools.  Now the Cook County State's Attorney has charged Juste with falsifying his application to be a school driver, and with being on school premises--which convicted sex offenders are not allowed to do. 

This report originally aired on Thursday, June 6, 2013 at 10 p.m.

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