ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla (CBS12) — A newly obtained arrest affidavit is revealing new details about the second alleged victim in the case against a former St. Lucie County school bus driver already accused of molesting a 9-year-old student.
Edwin Garcia, 72, was arrested again on a misdemeanor battery charge after investigators said another girl came forward following media coverage of his March arrest.
The affidavit shows the new charge is not based on the same type of allegation as the original molestation case. Instead, investigators said it stems from an unwanted touching of the girl’s stomach in January, after a broader pattern of behavior that allegedly made her uncomfortable.
According to the affidavit, the girl told investigators Garcia repeatedly asked her for hugs over about two weeks, both in the mornings and afternoons. She said he called her “babygirl” and asked her multiple times to open or lift her hoodie or jacket so he could see what she was wearing underneath.
The girl told investigators that, in early January, she had pinched her stomach with her laptop. Garcia allegedly asked to see the injury, had her show him the area near her belly button, touched her stomach and commented that it was “warm,” according to the affidavit.
Investigators wrote that the stomach touching was unwanted and formed the basis for the battery charge.
See also: Three found with 51 barracudas hidden in cooler off Key West, FWC says
The affidavit also includes new details from a Child Protection Team forensic interview. During that interview, the girl said Garcia asked girls on the bus for hugs but gave boys fist bumps. She said she was sometimes the first student on the bus and was alone with Garcia before other children boarded.
At one point, according to the affidavit, the girl said Garcia got out of his driver’s seat, came over to her seat, leaned over her and told her, “you should keep coming this early.” She said he also called her “babygirl,” which made her uncomfortable.
The girl told investigators the behavior began around October or November 2025 and that she eventually stopped trying to be the first student on the bus to avoid Garcia.
The affidavit says the girl’s mother learned about the alleged conduct only after seeing media coverage of Garcia’s March arrest and asking her daughter whether anything inappropriate had happened on the bus.
Detectives also attempted to obtain bus video in the second case, but a school official told investigators the footage no longer existed because it was too old, according to the affidavit.
Garcia was originally arrested March 6 in a separate case involving a 9-year-old student on the same bus. In that case, investigators said Garcia was accused of inappropriate comments and physical contact. The affidavit in the second case says Garcia admitted during a post-arrest interview in the first case that he made inappropriate comments and touched the first alleged victim.
Investigators wrote that the second case appeared to follow a “similar and consistent pattern” of inappropriate behavior toward female students while Garcia was working as a school bus driver, particularly on a bus that transported children with disabilities.
The affidavit also provides new details about prior complaints involving Garcia that date back years.
See also: Surveillance, phone data helped crack retail theft ring that hit hardware stores
In a 2017 Port St. Lucie Police Department case, two girls reported that Garcia made comments that made them uncomfortable, including, “you have a figure too good for that.” They also reported that after Garcia dropped them off, they later saw his bus parked near their home, according to the affidavit.
In a 2018 St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office case, several girls reported that Garcia called them pretty in a way they perceived as sexual and touched them on the shoulders, arms or backs, making them uncomfortable, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit does not indicate if those earlier complaints resulted in criminal charges.
Garcia previously resigned from St. Lucie Public Schools the same day he was arrested in March, according to the district. He had been hired by the district in January 2015.
The new arrest warrant listed a $5,000 bond on the battery charge and ordered Garcia to have no contact with the alleged victim.