OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A former Olympia school bus driver will spend 14 and a half years in prison for molesting two kindergarten-age girls while on the bus.
Gary Shafer, 32, pleaded guilty to two counts of child molestation after he was arrested in January of this year. He was sentenced Thursday to nearly 15 years in prison for the crimes.
After that time, Shafer will go before a sentencing review board. The board could release him or decide to keep him in prison.
In court Thursday, Shafer said to the victims' parents, I apologize to their families for the hurt I caused them and their children...I'll never understand the pain I've caused.
Police said Shafer groped the girls on two different days in December while he was learning a new route on a different bus.
His attorney also addressed the court, saying Shafer had a problem which he did not know how to get help for, and knows what he did was wrong.
Shafer also pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.
