Adrian, MI – The Lenawee County school bus driver charged with five felonies, including Child Sexually Abusive Material, made another court appearance Monday morning in Adrian.
44-year-old Michael Bonica, of Tecumseh, was briefly in the courtroom of District Court Judge Todd Morgan…via Zoom… for a probable cause conference…which actually did not happen. Both the defense council and the Lenawee County Prosecutor’s Office agreed to push back the probable cause conference to next Monday, October 14th, with no specific reason stated.
Bonica was arrested and arraigned in late September, following a call to the Tecumseh Police Department notifying them of an adult man soliciting a child for sex.
The affidavit of probable cause states that an individual who works for a non-profit organization which identifies adults soliciting children for sex chatted with Bonica through an on-line app. The individual posed as a 14-year-old girl.
After being told this, the affidavit says that the two continued their conversation, where Bonica sent photos of his face and various photos of his genitalia. The person working for the non-profit then learned that Bonica was a bus driver for Clinton Community Schools.
Later in the investigation, TPD identified a vehicle registered to Bonica, stopped it, and searched it. The Affidavit of Probable Cause states that TPD seized two phones and a computer from the vehicle. Bonica agreed to give a voluntary statement to the police, and gave passwords to the electronic devices.
The affidavit states that the detective observed several photos of underage children, including an approximately six year old girl with a face and exposed genitalia. Bonica admitted to being in possession of images of naked children. After the interview, he left the station. Later that night, Tecumseh Police arrested Bonica at a home in Tecumseh.
In a prepared statement, Clinton Community Schools Superintendent Kevin Beasley said that they were notified by law enforcement that one of the District’s school bus drivers was under investigation for engaging in inappropriate internet communications with a minor. The District immediately placed the individual on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The statement did not mention a specific individual. The district stated that there was no evidence suggesting any involvement of Clinton Community Schools’ students.
Prior to hiring this individual, Superintendent Beasley said that the District conducted a comprehensive criminal background check and followed all employment screening procedures, which did not indicate any threats to student safety.
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