ST. LOUIS — A former St. Louis area school bus driver is now facing accusations that he recorded the sexual abuse of minors, a Friday statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Missouri said.
A St. Peters resident, 66-year-old Robert W. Stillwell, faces two counts of production of child sexual abuse materials.
RELATED: Police issue alert after former Francis Howell school bus driver charged with child sex crimes
According to the indictment, Stillwell recorded his sexual abuse of two minors sometime between December 2020 and January 2024.
Last reported to be in custody at the St. Charles County Detention Center, Stillwell faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years for each charge.
The former Francis Howell School District school bus driver is also facing more than 20 additional child sex charges.
In April, the St. Charles County Police Department said investigators are looking into Stillwell's time driving a school bus for "possible unlawful contact with minors."
Due to the nature of his crimes, the department said it was working with the school district to issue an alert to parents.
"We have been working closely with the Francis Howell School District to notify families of students assigned to one of these bus routes," the press release from the police department said. "If your child was included on a bus route assigned to Stillwell, you should have received an email from the District."
The press release said he was on the following routes:
2021-2022 School Year
- Route 10 (Bryan Middle)
- Route 40 (Hollenbeck Middle, Bryan Middle and Castlio Elementary)
2022-2023 School Year
- Route 39 (Hollenbeck Middle, Central Elementary, and Castlio Elementary)
- Route 72 (Francis Howell North, Barnwell Middle, and Harvest Ridge Elementary)
The Francis Howell School District provided the following statement in April:
"The District was recently made aware that a former employee is the subject of a child exploitation investigation by the St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force. This same individual was also criminally charged earlier this year. However, the former employee has not been employed by the District since May 15, 2023, and there is no indication that the criminal charges against the former employee are related to his previous employment with the District. We have and will continue to fully cooperate with law enforcement as they complete their investigation."
According to online court documents, police began their investigation in December after a family reported that Stillwell sexually assaulted their child. The parents said Stillwell was a family friend who watched the victim, including overnight stays, "countless" times.
After an initial investigation, Stillwell was charged with child molestation and, sexual misconduct involving a child under the age of 15 and multiple other crimes. His bond was set at $200,000, cash only.
Court documents said police served a search warrant at Stillwell's home in January and discovered "hundreds, if not thousands" of photos, videos or audio files potentially depicting child sexual abuse material. The court documents said some of the videos showed Stillwell engaging in illegal sexual activity with children, which the most recent probable cause statement said happened between January 2021 and October of 2023.
In March, prosecutors amended his initial charges and charged him with 19 additional charges. In all, he was charged with 12 counts of first-degree statutory sodomy of a victim under the age of 12, nine counts of possession of child pornography, one count of second-degree child molestation and one count of sexual misconduct involving a child under the age of 15.
None of the court documents indicate Stillwell met the victims through his role as a school bus driver, but they said he "had contact with hundreds of children over the last several years."
St. Charles County Police said the investigation remains open, active and anyone who believes their child is affected should contact police immediately.
You can do so by calling Detective Anthony Altman with the department's Cyber Crime Task Force at the number 636-949-4582 ext. 4582.
To report a crime to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, visit their CyberTipline online.