FORMER ROCHESTER BUS DRIVER GOING TO PRISON FOR 10 YEARS ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGE

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Tomas Rosario, 76, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of attempting to receive child pornography, was sentenced to serve 120 months in prison and seven years supervised release by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire, who handled the case, stated that Rosario was a school bus driver in Monroe County.

On March 11, 2022, without any other adults or children present, Rosario transported a 13-year-old (victim) to school. During the ride, Rosario allowed the victim to sit in the front seat and proceeded to engage her in personal and sexually explicit conversation, including asking the victim if she had ever engaged in sexual conduct with her boyfriend. At the end of the day, Rosario picked the victim up from school and again allowed her to sit in the front seat. Rosario continued to engage in sexually explicit conversation with the victim and ultimately subjected her to instances of sexual contact. In addition, Rosario gave the victim his phone number, showed the victim his home, and encouraged the victim to call and visit if she ever wanted to skip school. Rosario’s actions were recorded on the bus surveillance system. In one instance, Rosario instructed the victim to take sexually explicit photos of herself and send them to him.

On the following day, Rosario encountered the victim in a convenience store and warned her not to tell anyone what he had done the day before. That encounter was captured by the store’s security cameras.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief David Smith, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Acting Agent-in-Charge Mark Grimm.