Bus driver accused of sexting, trying to lure teen
A Buckeye man who drove a bus for the City of Phoenix is accused of sending explicit text messages to a teenage passenger and try to lure her for sex acts.
Posted — UpdatedSean Usher was taken into custody on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
According to court documents, it all started in late August when Usher struck up a conversation with a 16-year-old girl after she boarded the bus at 36th Street and Union Hills Road. He invited her to go with him to the Circle K at 40th Street and Union Hills. She agreed, they talked and went back on the bus.
About a week later, the girl boarded the bus again and this time the 52-year-old man ask her how big of an age gap she was willing to date. She said she was 16 and he said he thought she was 20, police said.
A week passed, and the victim got on the bus again and she and Usher stopped at the Circle K for his break and he bought her a drink, pumpkin seeds and a candy bar. The conversation turned sexual, police said, and he asked her to take an explicit picture of herself. Usher reportedly gave her his cell phone as she got off the bus.
Police officers were then called. The girl told officers on Sept. 11 about her three conversations. She also called Usher who was upset that she hadn't sent the photo, court documents said. The conversation stayed sexual and he told her he wanted to meet. She brought up her age again and Usher stated that "if she was okay, then he was okay," court documents said.
A detective with Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force assumed the identity of the girl and began sending text messages back and forth with Usher. Some of Usher's texts were sexually explicit. Usher also sent two pictures of his genitals and two pictures of his face, with one of them appearing to have been taken while he was driving the city bus, according to court documents. Police said there were several more sexual text messages.
Usher wanted to meet up, so he set a time for 12:30 p.m. at the Circle K. When he arrived, he was arrested by police.
Police said Usher admitted to talking and texting sexually with the 16-year-old but said he talks sexually with other passengers on the bus. He denied he was going to follow through with any of the sex acts he described and didn't see anything wrong with talking sexually with a 16-year-old, court documents said.
Usher's employer, Transdev, said he has been fired and that the company is cooperating with the investigation.
Usher is facing two counts of aggravated luring of a minor and one count of attempt to commit sexual conduct with a minor.
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