A former school bus driver accused of threatening and stalking an 8-year-old boy in New Hampshire pleaded guilty to cyberstalking on Friday.
Michael Chick, 40, of Eliot worked as a bus driver for First Student and drove routes in both Greenland and Rye, New Hampshire.
Chick was arrested last year. Prosecutors alleged he gave a student at Greenland Central School cellphones with instructions to take inappropriate photos of himself, placed tracing devices on his parents’ vehicles and made multiple nighttime visits to their home, according to court documents.
The boy told investigators Chick used a story about a group of criminals he called “The Team” who would kill his family, kidnap him and torture him if he did not comply with their demands.
The boy’s parents reported what they considered Chick’s obsession with their son. Chick was reassigned to different bus routes but continued to contact the boy, according to the court documents. The family reported him to police again after finding two cellphones in a lunchbox in the boy’s room.
Chick’s sentencing date has been set for Sept. 25, and he faces up to 10 years in prison with three years of supervised release, along with a fine of $250,000.
