Former School Bus Aide Admits To Sexually Abusing Child Inside Service

A 68-year-old former school bus aide from Montgomery County, New York, who was arrested in June on charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a child on a Fort Plain service, pleaded guilty in the case Monday.

Thomas Yager, of Fort Plain, pleaded guilty before Montgomery County Court to one count of first-degree sexual abuse, local newspaper The Daily Gazette reported, citing Montgomery County District Attorney Lorraine Diamond.

Yager, who worked on a school bus that transported students for out-of-district placements, had admitted to subjecting a child less than 13 years old to sexual contact, Diamond said. He was arrested in June in Montgomery County after first being charged in Gloversville, Fulton County, according to officials.

The Montgomery County charge against the elderly man followed another first-degree sexual abuse count filed against Yager by the Gloversville Police Department, which was related to allegations on a Fort Plain school bus there, as per The Daily Gazette.

An investigation by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office started on May 23 when authorities received a sexual abuse complaint from the school district's superintendent's office, which accused a bus aide employed by the district of subjecting children under the age of 11 to sexual contact while riding on the bus.

The same type of complaint had made its way to Gloversville police, resulting in the charge there, according to officials.

Investigators from both departments reviewed school bus surveillance video, interviewed children as well as school employees and Yager himself following the complaints, officials said.

Officials from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office cited video surveillance and interview results for Yager's arrest.

Diamond lauded both police agencies as well as the New York State Police "for their tireless efforts in gathering evidence that led to the plea from Mr. Yager."

Yager is scheduled to be sentenced in September, where he will receive a sentence of up to seven years in state prison as well as post-release supervision of up to 10 years.

The status of Yager's Fulton County case could not be determined as of late, according to the Daily Gazette.