Pewaukee school bus driver accused of sexually assaulting a second victim
WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- In court on May 28 was the man accused of sexually assaulting a child on his school bus for several months. During Thomas Felser's preliminary hearing at the Waukesha County Courthouse, it was revealed that there was another victim.
Sixty-two-year-old Felser pleaded not guilty at his preliminary hearing, where the alleged victims' families watched from the courtroom. Felser now faces seven felonies.
According to the criminal complaint, Felser, between September of 2024 through May of this year, repeatedly sexually assaulted a 6-year-old girl who rode on his bus route.
He was discovered by the mother of the student, who got suspicious when she saw on a GPS that her child's bus hadn't moved in 10 minutes. When she got to the bus, she called out the girl's name - and Felser's head reportedly popped up "super fast."
An amended criminal complaint now details how Felser would touch a second victim, a 5-year-old girl, under her skirt while other students were on the bus. This victim was reportedly assaulted by Felser between April and May of this year. He also would reportedly lay on top of her, or "cuddle."
These alleged assaults would often happen when Felser played the "monster game" with children on his bus, where kids hide and someone closes their eyes. He would roar to signal that the game was starting.
On April 28, Felser reportedly sits in the back of the bus with the 5-year-old, putting his hands in between her legs. After making eye contact with the camera, he moves to where the victim can't be seen on camera, but you can see her feet near the aisle. The complaint indicates that Felser would get additional time with the girl "by telling the other student to go back to the front of the bus and count again to 20 seconds.”
Felser would reportedly call the victim “a cute little baby” and had said, “stay with daddy” because she was “too little” to go to the back of the bus with the other students.
The complaint says the first victim told him "No thank you" before, but that he "forgets." Meanwhile, the second victim reportedly told police, "Mr. Tom did it to me, but I don't know why." The 6-year-old says Felser stated, “Please don’t talk to anyone about this because I can get in trouble,” giving her various candies.
“Based upon the allegations within that complaint, it will find that you probably committed felonies within the jurisdiction of this court, and based upon that, I will bind you over for trial,” said Court Commissioner Kevin Costello.
Additional charges were presented on Wednesday.
Felser was a teacher in the school district for over 30 years before working as a bus driver, driving for all four schools in the Pewaukee School District.
According to the criminal complaint, the school bus manager says Felser wouldn't write up students for poor bus behavior, which she describes as unusual. Now, the manager questions if this was done so the bus video would not be viewed.
An adjusted bail was requested, so Felser's next day in court will be for a bail review date on June 2.