71-year-old local school bus driver charged with 50 counts of possessing indecent images of children

TOWSON, Maryland. — Baltimore County police are investigating a fatal hit-and-run incident that occurred late Friday night on Liberty Road, near Essex Road.

According to authorities, the incident occurred around 11:40 p.m., when a pedestrian fell into the roadway and was struck by two vehicles. Both vehicles, described as a light-colored sedan and a dark-colored sedan, fled the scene without stopping.

The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene. The identity of the victim has not been released as police continue their investigation.

Baltimore County Crash Team detectives are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact them at 410-887-5396. Callers can remain anonymous.

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Guenther Mayrhofer, 71, of Mastic Beach, a bus driver for the William Floyd School District, has been charged with promoting and possessing indecent images of children. The charges follow an investigation that revealed Mayrhofer allegedly downloaded and uploaded the images and videos to a cloud storage account.

“There is nothing more important to my office than protecting children and catching predators in our community,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney. “It is deeply troubling that this defendant was reportedly around children every day as a school bus driver.”

The investigation began after New York State Police received a tip that Mayrhofer had allegedly uploaded approximately 20 images of indecent content involving children to a cloud storage account. On August 15, 2024, state police executed a search warrant at Mayrhofer’s home, seizing numerous electronic devices and storage media.

A subsequent examination of these devices revealed that Mayrhofer had allegedly downloaded and stored more than a hundred images and videos depicting the exploitation of children.

Mayrhofer was arraigned on August 29, 2024, before Acting Chief Justice Karen M. Wilutis on 25 counts of promoting a sexual act by a child, class D felonies, and 25 counts of possessing a sexual act by a child, class E felonies.

Judge Wilutis set bail at $150,000 cash, $500,000 surety, or a $1.5 million partially secured bond. Mayrhofer is scheduled to return to court on October 8, 2024, and is being represented by the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society.

Authorities are urging anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Guenther Mayrhofer to contact the New York State Police, the Suffolk County Police Department, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.