School bus driver charged with sexually assaulting children

PORT WASHINGTON -- A Port Washington school bus driver is charged with three counts of sexual assault of a child. 57-year-old Randy Mayer faces three felony counts for allegedly inappropriately touching students on his bus route.

The charges come after a lengthy investigation by the Port Washington Police Department, which started looking into incidents after being notified by students.

Mayer worked for Johnson School Bus Company. He apparently has been a trusted school bus driver for 35 years. Mayer's mother worked as a driver for the same company for 30 years.

The criminal complaint indicates Mayer set children who were misbehaving on the bus on the engine box next to the driver's seat. At that point, he would occasionally "tickle" the child that was sitting there. One boy reported Mayor was "tickling him on the inner thigh when the bus driver's hand briefly touched against his penis."

One alleged victim noted the seat in the front of the bus was referred to as the "dog house."

Mayer was fired on October 13th after his supervisor learned about the "dog house." The supervisor made the decision saying children sitting up front on the engine box was "a very dangerous situation."

Mayer's bail has been set at $2,500. He is expected to post that and is being ordered to stay away from kids under age 16 until his next court date. That's set for January 3, 2012.

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