WESTBROOK – The former school bus driver arrested this week on child sex crimes resigned from his job in the Westbrook School Department following a 2010 incident involving two minors.
Stephen C. Mitton, 47, was arrested Tuesday and arraigned Wednesday on a felony count of sexual exploitation of a minor and a misdemeanor charge of unlawful sexual touching. Those charges against Mitton, who resigned as a bus driver in the Scarborough school system just before his arrest, result from an interaction with a 16-year-old neighbor, according to court documents.
Also mentioned in the court documents is a 2010 incident “involving Stephen Mitton and some inappropriate interactions he had with some children from his route when he drove a school bus for the City of Westbrook.”
No other details on the earlier incident are provided in the court papers. But according to Lee Ann Vokey of Westbrook, the incident involved photographs of a naked man on Mitton’s phone. Vokey said in November 2010, Mitton was showing photos on his phone of the decorated Christmas tree in his home to one of her grandchildren and another minor, both of whom knew Mitton from the school bus. Among photographs of the tree was a picture of a naked man. Vokey, who said she reported the incident to Westbrook police, said Mitton knew the girls from the school and called them over when he saw them in the parking lot at a local business.
The police record of the incident involving Mitton shows a report was filed on Nov. 30, 2010, but no arrests or charges came as a result. It is unclear what happened after the report was filed with Westbrook police. Vokey and a grandparent of the other child involved in the incident, who asked not to be named, said they were told the report was sent to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office and charges were not pursued. Tamara Getchell, a spokeswoman for the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, said they did not have a record of the incident. Westbrook police could not immediately confirm that the report was sent to prosecutors.
Mitton was employed at the Westbrook School Department from Aug. 22, 2007 until Dec. 20, 2010, when Mitton resigned from his position, according to Superintendent Marc Gousse. Gousse said all employees are subject to background and referral checks.
Scarborough Superintendent George Entwistle said Wednesday that Mitton resigned Tuesday.
“My only comment would be that there are no pending complaints or concerns as it relates to Scarborough schools,” said Entwistle. “It’s really, as far as I’m concerned, not a matter that concerns us.”
Entwistle added that due to safety concerns, Scarborough school buses are monitored by video.
According to Cape Elizabeth Superintendent Meredith Nadeau, a Stephen C. Mitton drove a school bus for her district from February to June 2011.
“My impression is that it was a temporary position,” she said, noting that Mitton was contracted for special event duties on Aug. 19, 2011 and Aug. 17, 2012.
On Monday, Jan. 14, Westbrook police received a call from a concerned parent who said Mitton had asked her child for a naked picture via text message.
Police have confiscated the minor’s cell phone, Mitton’s cell phone and two computers from Mitton’s home at 665 Saco St. in Westbrook.
Mitton gave no answer to the charges at his arraignment on Jan. 16. He was ordered held on $5,000 cash bail. Mitton will be back in court on March 26.
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