The Suffolk Public School bus

driver and assistant who accidentally left a 4-year-old child on the bus for more than five hours last month have each been charged with felony child neglect.

A grand jury handed down the indictments against Gena Albright and Dana Denise Anthony on Monday.

The charges stem from a Dec. 1, 2004 incident when Bobby Boone, a student in Mount Zion Elementary School’s Early Start program, fell asleep on the bus on the way to school.

He apparently remained asleep when his classmates got off the bus.

Albright and Anthony then parked the bus at King’s Fork Middle School for the day.

The pair found Boone on the bus when they picked up the bus to begin the afternoon run to take students home, Bethanne Bradshaw, spokeswoman for the school division, said last month.

Albright and Anthony were placed on administrative leave after the incident occurred.

allison.williams@suffolknewsherald.com