Former School Bus Driver Pleads Guilty to Possessing Thousands of Images of Child Sexual Abuse Material

RIVERSIDE, California - A San Bernardino County man who once worked as a school bus driver pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge for possessing thousands of images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Donal James Seaver, 51, of Hesperia, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.

Seaver has been in federal custody since March 2024.

According to his plea agreement, federal and local law enforcement executed a search warrant at Seaver's residence in March 2024. Law enforcement seized four digital devices from Seaver and his bedroom, three of which contained CSAM. One of the devices - a Samsung tablet - contained thousands of images depicting CSAM.

Seaver admitted in his plea agreement that he knew the files contained videos and images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He further admitted to knowingly downloading CSAM from the internet onto his devices - material that depicted children under the age of 12 years.

United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal scheduled an August 25 sentencing hearing, at which time Seaver will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The FBI and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Sonah Lee of the Riverside Branch Office is prosecuting this case.