Bay Shore school bus driver charged in sexual abuse of girl over 1½ year period
Miguel Enrique Diaz drove a school bus for Bay Shore Middle School in Bay Shore. Credit: James Carbone
A bus driver for children in the Bay Shore School District sexually abused a now-13-year-old girl multiple times between May 2022 and October 2023, Suffolk County police said Thursday.
Miguel Enrique Diaz, 47, a bus driver for Bay Shore Middle School and Brook Elementary School students, was arrested Wednesday at his home on Penataquit Avenue in Bay Shore.
Following an investigation by Suffolk police Special Victims Section detectives, he was charged with one count of first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Diaz, an employee of Suffolk Transportation, a bus provider for the district, was arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Thursday.
Diaz pleaded not guilty and bail was set at $1 million cash or $2 million bond, according to court records. Diaz was represented by the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society but no one could be reached for comment at its office Thursday evening.
A community therapist reported the abuse to detectives earlier this month, authorities said.
"We have been notified by the Suffolk County Police Department that all incidents of alleged abuse did not occur on district property, within district buildings, or on buses transporting students for the district," Bay Shore Superintendent Steven Maloney said in a letter to parents Thursday. "The district has taken immediate action to ensure that the employee of Suffolk Transportation will no longer participate in providing any driving duties for the district."
Detectives are asking anyone with information on this case, or who believes their child may be a victim of Diaz, to contact the Special Victims Section at 631-852-6531.
With John Asbury
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
