THE mother of a York pupil who claims she was raped by a bus driver told today of their shock and disgust after the authorities decided not to prosecute.

The 13-year-old girl alleged she was indecently assaulted over an 18-month period, with some attacks happening on the bus after she had bunked off school and been driven to remote locations.

But after a lengthy investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to take the case to court.

The mother said she was shocked when she heard the news.

"I just couldn't believe it. We were crying," she said. "We were angry and very upset. We feel let down by the whole system."

The girl said she would have been willing to go through the ordeal of giving evidence in court, and was upset by the decision.

She also told of her shock when she saw the man driving along in a bus one day recently.

"I just froze," she said. Her mother said: "She looked like she had seen a ghost."

The mother said she had been told the decision not to prosecute was taken because her daughter gave different information to police during two videoed interviews.

During the first one, the girl claimed the man had behaved indecently towards her, but had not had full sex with her. But in the second interview, she had said that they had had intercourse.

But the mother believed her daughter had only failed to tell the truth in her first interview because she was too ashamed and frightened. It was only after an aunt had had a long chat with her that she felt able to speak fully and frankly for the first time about everything that had happened.

The CPS told the Evening Press it did not go ahead with a prosecution because it believed there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction.

"The Crown Prosecutor must be satisfied that there is a realistic prospect of conviction and sufficient evidence to take a case to trial," said a spokeswoman, adding that the CPS took such allegations very seriously and aimed for a successful prosecution whenever possible.

A North Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said evidence given by the complainant had been contradictory, but said that the man had been warned under the Abduction Act to stay away from the girl or face immediate arrest.

The girl's mother said her daughter had first met the man while round at a friend's house and he had later come to their home.

"He seemed all right, but there was something about him that made me suspicious," she said.

Her daughter had told police she had seen the man while he was off-duty but still had the bus available. She had alleged that he had called her on her mobile phone while she was at school, and arranged for her to meet him on his bus, and they had driven away to locations where he had abused her.

Updated: 10:34 Monday, March 29, 2004