CHAUTAUQUA — A local school bus driver accused of endangering the welfare of a child passenger has been found innocent.

Edward Farnsworth, 58, of Dewittville, appeared before a non-jury trial in Chautauqua Court on Dec. 9, where his charge of endangering the welfare of a child — a class A misdemeanor — was dismissed.

Farnsworth was charged after an April 28 incident, in which he allegedly engaged in actions that “constituted endangering a juvenile” while driving Bus No. 142 for the Chautauqua Lake Central School District.

According to his attorney, Jason Schmidt, everything that occurred on the bus was recorded by a video camera.

“I can tell you that we reviewed the footage (in court) about 3-4 times … there was no question as to what happened,” Schmidt said.

“At the conclusion of the evidence, the judge said he saw nothing that would give rise to the (endangering) charge,” he added. “The judge didn’t even feel that Mr. Farnsworth’s conduct rose to the level of a ‘lesser-included charge’ like second-degree harassment.”

Schmidt said his presentation focused on Farnsworth’s training and how school bus drivers are required to handle various scenarios.

“From Mr. Farnsworth’s perspective, this child created a disciplinary issue on the bus that also created a safety issue to herself and the other students,” Schmidt said. “Mr. Farnsworth attempted to use verbal cues to de-escalate the situation, and at one point, had an interaction with the child. It appears that Mr. Farnsworth’s decision to pull the bus over and interact with the child are what led to the filing of the charges.”

Farnsworth, a substitute school bus driver, was suspended from the Chautauqua Lake Central School District shortly after being charged. He also reportedly lost his pistol license. Schmidt said he has already taken steps to get his client’s pistol license reinstated.

“The filing of this charge really destroyed an innocent man’s life,” Schmidt said. “There’s a stigma attached to any accusation of an adult potentially causing harm to a child. We’ve now taken steps as a result of the not guilty verdict to reverse this … but there’s a long-lasting effect for just having been accused of a crime.”

The Chautauqua Lake Central School District could not be reached Wednesday to determine whether Farnsworth would be resuming his duties.