LI School Bus Driver Caught With Child Porn Indicted On 50 Counts: DA

MASTIC BEACH, NY — A Mastic Beach school bus driver was indicted Thursday on 50 counts after promoting and possessing child sex abuse material, District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Guenther Mayrhofer, 71, a former bus driver for the William Floyd School District, was indicted on charges including promoting a sexual performance by a child and possessing a sexual performance by a child, after he reportedly downloaded images and videos of child sexual abuse, and then uploaded them to his cloud storage account, the DA said.

"He is an employee of First Student Transportation who has driven for the district," the William Floyd School District representative previously told Patch. "First Student is the district’s large bus contractor. The moment we learned of his arrest, he was decertified as a driver in our district."

According to the investigation, the New York State Police received a tip that Mayrhofer had
reportedly uploaded about 20 images of child sexual abuse to a cloud storage account, Tierney said.

On August 15, state police executed a search warrant of Mayrhofer’s home and recovered numerous electronic devices and electronic storage devices; a review of the devices revealed that Mayrhofer had downloaded and saved more than 100 images and videos of child sexual abuse, the DA said.

On August 29, Mayrhofer was arraigned on the indictment before Acting Supreme Court
Justice Karen M. Wilutis, on 25 counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child,
felonies; and 25 counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child, felonies, the DA said.

Justice Wilutis ordered Mayrhofer held on $150,000 cash, $500,000 bond, or $1.5 million partially secured bond during the pendency of the case, the DA said.

Mayrhofer is due back in court on October 8; he is being represented by the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society.

"There is nothing more important to my office than protecting children and tracking down predators in our community. It is deeply disturbing that this defendant was allegedly in close proximity to children every day as a school bus driver," said Tierney. "I thank the New York State Police for their diligent investigation in this case. We will continue to work closely with them and our other law enforcement partners to seek justice for these innocent victims."

If you or someone you know believe you have been victimized by Guenther Mayrhofer, contact the New York State Police, the Suffolk County Police Department, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.