In a shocking case of child sex crimes, a school bus driver in New Hampshire discovered on Friday that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars in a federal penitentiary.
John Allen Wright, a resident of Milton, N. H., appeared in U.S. District Court on Friday and was sentenced to 160 years in prison, the maximum sentence federal law allows, after he pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney John P. Kacavas said in a press conference.
In February 2011, a member of New Hampshire’s Internet Crimes Against Children (NH ICAC) Task Force initiated an undercover investigation to capture suspects possessing and trading images of child pornography through Internet file-sharing networks, according to Kacavas.
Information obtained as a result of the investigation led to the issuance of a search warrant for 46-year-old Wright’s home in Milton. During the search of his residence, computer equipment was seized and forensic examination revealed several videos depicting Wright sexually assaulting minor children who were passengers aboard his school bus.
The children, some of whom were completely non-verbal, suffered from a variety of disabilities making them vulnerable to the predatory bus driver.
The initial search of Wright’s computer revealed thousands of child sexual assault images that had been downloaded from the Internet. A subsequent federal search warrant yielded more evidence linking Wright to the actual production of kiddie porn videos.
The defendant has been in custody since his indictment in October 2011. He entered guilty pleas to all counts in the indictment in September of last year.
U.S. Attorney Kacavas stated: “This case represents yet another example of our resolve to eradicate the threat to our children posed by predators like the defendant. While a sentence of this duration is beyond man’s capacity to serve, justice for the young victims and a just punishment for this defendant are beyond our capacity to achieve. Therefore, only the maximum possible punishment authorized by law is appropriate and like-minded individuals who seek to prey on our children be warned.”
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