Bay Shore school bus driver who pleaded guilty in sexual abuse of girl sentenced to 16 years in prison
Miguel Enrique Diaz drove a school bus for Bay Shore Middle School in Bay Shore. Credit: James Carbone
A former Bay Shore school bus and Uber driver has been sentenced to 16 years in prison — followed by 15 years of post-release supervision — after pleading guilty last month to the repeated rape of a preteen girl in his car and in his home, authorities said Friday.
The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said Miguel Enrique Diaz, 49, appeared before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis, who issued the sentence — which also mandates Diaz register as a sex offender.
Diaz had pleaded guilty on March 17 to first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child, a Class B violent felony. The former bus driver for Bay Shore Middle School and Brook Elementary School students, who also drove a car for Uber, had been arrested in 2024 at his home following an investigation by police Special Victims Section detectives.
Authorities said between December 2022 and October 2023 Diaz "repeatedly raped" the then 12-year-old girl in the backseat of his car and also in his home on Penataquit Avenue. The district attorney's office said the victim told her mother about the attacks in March 2024.
The mother then contacted police, who arrested Diaz on March 13, 2024.
Diaz initially entered a not guilty plea to charges in the case and was ordered held on $1 million cash or $2 million bond.
"While this defendant's sentence of 16 years in prison is substantial, it pales in comparison to the potential lifelong trauma that the victim will suffer due to the defendant's crime," Suffolk District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said in a statement on Friday, adding: "We hope the tremendous strength this young survivor showed to coming forward was the first step of many steps in her healing process, and that it encourages others who have experienced abuse to come forward knowing that they will be heard, believed, and protected."
John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.
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