A former Duluth school bus driver is accused of sexually assaulting a preteen girl he was driving home from school in 2006.
Michael Wayne Burk, 34, was arraigned Wednesday in St. Louis County District Court on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the incident that allegedly happened on a school bus on or about Oct. 1, 2006.
A spokesman for Voyageur Bus Co. said Burk has not worked for the company for about 2½ years.
The alleged incident came to light when Duluth police officers were interviewing Burk in connection with another sexual assault.
According to the criminal complaint, Burk told police that he sexually assaulted the girl while she was asleep in her seat. He said that she didn't say anything when she woke up, but he later learned that she told her parents.
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On Dec. 17, a police investigator interviewed the girl and her mother at First Witness Child Abuse Resource Center. The girl provided a description of the defendant and related what he allegedly did to her. She said she was able to run away from him.
In the earlier case, charged on Dec. 16, Burk is accused of sexually assaulting another preteen girl. He is charged with five counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. According to that criminal complaint, Burk admitted to a police officer that he had been viewing child pornography for about 10 years. He also admitted to sexually abusing the girl at various times over a period of a year.
A public defender told the court that Burk has been living in Duluth about 10 years. He grew up in Michigan and also has lived in Texas. He has two adopted children who are in foster care.
An Arrowhead Regional Corrections probation officer rejected Burk for supervised release. He was being held in the St. Louis County Jail on $50,000 bail on the initial charges. Judge John DeSanto increased the defendant's bail to $150,000 on Wednesday.
