Former Westmoreland County bus driver sentenced to prison for trying to meet teen for sex
BUTLER, Pa. (KDKA) -- A former bus driver from Westmoreland County was sentenced to up to eight years in prison for soliciting sex from an undercover officer he believed to be a teenage girl.
Mark Garris, 47, was working as a bus driver for DMJ Transportation for the Greensburg Salem School District when he committed the crimes, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General said.
Investigators said Garris had sexual conversations on social media and agreed to meet the "child" even after being told she was only 15. The attorney general's office said Garris didn't know he was actually talking to an undercover officer, and when he drove to the meeting spot, police took him into custody.
In March, a Butler County jury convicted him of three felonies: unlawful contact with a minor, attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a person less than 16 years age and criminal use of a communication facility.
He was sentenced to four to eight years in prison followed by eight years of probation. He must also register for life.
"This case serves as a reminder of the ways child predators use social media to gain access to victims. This defendant had every intention of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl," Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a news release.
"While today's sentence ensures that this particular defendant will not prey on young people online anytime soon, I encourage parents to educate themselves on the dangers of children using the internet unsupervised and to have ongoing conversations with their kids."
