A Charlottetown mother says a driver who works for a bus service for people with disabilities should be fired after he was convicted of assault last week.

'I trusted them to take him there, and home safely, and treat him with respect.'— Valerie Gillespie

Pablo Szerman was charged last spring after one of his passengers spit on the bus door, and Szerman reacted by wiping the spit on the passenger's face.

The passenger was Brenton Gillespie, 14, who has the mental capacity of a three-year old. His condition affects his balance and mobility. His family told CBC News he also finds it hard to swallow, so he's always spitting.

To get around the city, Brenton uses Pat and the Elephant vans, a transportation service specifically for people with disabilities.

On the day of the incident, Brenton's older sister Alisha was there to greet him as he got off the van. Brenton spit on the van door on his way out. Alisha said she was about to apologize to Szerman, who was driving at the time.

The entire Gillespie family was upset by the incident. (Family photo)

"I didn't even get a chance to say anything, and he took the spit and wiped it in his face," she said.

"I said, 'What are you doing?' And he said, 'Well, how is he going to learn?' I said: 'You don't do that. He's a human being. It's degrading.'"

Brenton's mother, Valerie Gillespie, still has trouble holding back tears when she tells the story.

"I put him in that van, and I trusted them to take him there, and home safely, and treat him with respect," she said.

Gillespie believes Szerman should not be allowed to keep his job.

Last week, Szerman was given a conditional discharge and has since apologized to the family.

He has support from some of his other passengers, many of whom wrote letters to the court.

Szerman was out of province and unavailable to CBC News for this story. His lawyer, Alex Godfrey, said his client just wants to move on.

"Pablo has said to me many times he regrets what he did on that day, and that he wishes he could have dealt with it differently," said Godfrey.

Trent Costello, co-ordinator for Pat and the Elephant, said Szerman has driven adults but not children since May. Costello said he will be allowed to drive children again next fall, after what he called a cooling-off period.