Former Maryland School Bus Attendant Sentenced to 70 Years for Sex Offenses Against Vulnerable Children
A former substitute school bus attendant for Washington County Public Schools in Maryland was sentenced to 70 years in state prison on November 4, 2026, for inappropriately touching several vulnerable children on school buses earlier this year, according to The Herald-Mail's reporting of the court hearing.
Michael Kevin Sowers, 72, of Washington County, entered an Alford plea to seven counts of third-degree sex offense during a plea hearing in Washington County Circuit Court. An Alford plea does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to obtain a conviction. Judge Mark K. Boyer imposed the 70-year sentence sought by Assistant State's Attorney Dakota Parrish — 10 years, the maximum, on each of the seven counts. Sowers received 176 days of credit for time served.
Parrish told the court that the Department of Social Services received several reports on May 6 about inappropriate touching on a school bus on May 5. A kindergartner reported being inappropriately touched by an adult on a school bus that day, leading to investigations by three law enforcement agencies and the discovery of more victims, Parrish said. All six victims were described as vulnerable, either due to age or disability; at least two were nonverbal and one was wheelchair-bound, and the victims included children of both genders. Two of the counts involved the same child in separate incidents on the same day. The incidents occurred from February to May of this year.
Parrish told the judge that the children were not in a position to report what had happened to them and called Sowers a "predator of the highest magnitude." Boyer told Sowers his actions were legally and morally unacceptable and said he would make sure Sowers was unable to commit such a crime again.
Washington County Public Schools officials said on May 8, the day Sowers was taken into custody, that he was no longer employed by the school system as of May 7. As a Tier III sex offender, Sowers will have to register on the sex offender registry for life. Hagerstown Police Detective Tony Fleegal, who reviewed video from the school buses on which Sowers worked, said after the hearing that the investigation is closed; the Washington County Sheriff's Office and Maryland State Police conducted their own investigations.
(Source: Washington County Circuit Court, Maryland)
Source: Washington County Circuit Court, Maryland
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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