The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
A Florida man may face legal consequences after being accused of intentionally timing his sprinkler system so the special needs students boarding and deboarding the school bus near his home would be soaked with water.
According to reports, for the past year, a family with two disabled children, one of whom is in a wheelchair, has had difficulties with their next-door neighbor when they board their school bus. The bus parks in front of their Ocala home, and when the wheelchair ramp is lowered, it reportedly blocks part of the neighbor’s driveway. The 61-year-old man reported being frustrated by the situation. At the beginning of August 2024, it was believed that he used his lawn sprinkler system to retaliate against the annoyance.
Each time the father of the students came out of the house with his kids, they were soaked by the sprinklers, which were allegedly intentionally aimed at the area between the home and the door of the bus. Neighbors reported that they often saw the sprinklers come on when the dad would bring his wheelchair-bound 17-year-old daughter, who has Prader-Willi syndrome, to the bus. The alleged water assault continued as the man escorted his 22-year-old son, who has been diagnosed with Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome. When they returned from school, the sprinklers reportedly came on again, causing them to get wet a second time.