Inland Empire Man Who Was Employed as School Bus Driver Charged with Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California Byline: Ciaran McEvoy Dateline: Riverside, California Date: 28 March 2024 Subjects: American Government , Buses, Crime Topic: Donal James Seaver

RIVERSIDE, California – A San Bernardino County man who worked as a school bus driver has been charged in federal court with possessing more than 10,000 images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), the Justice Department announced today.

Donal James Seaver, 49, of Hesperia, made his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside. A federal magistrate judge ordered Seaver jailed without bond and scheduled an April 16 arraignment for him.

According to an affidavit filed Tuesday with a criminal complaint, law enforcement officials on March 7 executed a search warrant at Seaver’s residence. During the search, law enforcement seized a Samsung Tablet that allegedly contained more than 10,000 images and 13 videos of CSAM.

The tablet’s historical device data show that it was frequently “wiped” – or factory reset – which deleted all data on the device, and had been reset most recently on February 27.

As of March 7, Seaver was employed as a school bus driver for a private company and drove a route that included 10 elementary school students with special needs.

He was arrested and charged in state court prior to a federal criminal case being brought against him.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Seaver would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The FBI and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Sonah Lee of the Riverside Branch Office is prosecuting this case.

Contact

Ciaran McEvoy
Public Information Officer
ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov
(213) 894-4465

Updated March 28, 2024

Press Release Number: 24-070