WINONA, Minn — A criminal complaint alleging sexual misconduct against a Rushford school bus driver eight years ago identifies the victim as a high school junior who was 17 at the time. The complaint notes that victim, a girl, suffered autism and Asperger’s syndrome. The complaint alleges too that the driver, Timothy Thomas Wilkemeyer, age 53, was aware of the girl’s vulnerabilities or should have been. The alleged behavior was reported to authorities only three weeks ago when the mother of the girl, now 24, contacted authorities. The criminal complaint quotes Wilkemeyer with different details of what happened. He told investigators that the girl asked to see his genitals, which he did, and that she fondled them. He acknowledged ongoing discussion of sexual topics with the girl but denied touching her breasts or genitalia. He also told investigators that he believed the girl’s 18th birthday had passed. Eighteen is Minnesota’s legally recognized age of consent. According to the complaint, Wilkemeyer had been the girl’s school bus driver since she was 5 years old. The trips were 21 miles back and forth from her family’s home in Winona County to school in Rushford
What’s at stake
Wilkemeyer is charged with a single count of criminal sexual conduct, a felony, in the driveway of her family’s home in Winona County. Conviction could mean 15 years prison and a $30,000 fine. Wilkemeyer no longer drives school buses. Also: Fillmore County social workers have suspended his license to provide child-care services from his Rushford home because of “imminent risk of harm to persons served.”