Police: School bus worker admits sex with 12-year-old

CEDAR RAPIDS - A 20-year-old Cedar Rapids school bus attendant admitted he exchanged explicit photos with a 12-year-old girl he met while working and had sex with her, a Hiawatha police captain testified in federal court Tuesday.

Capt. Ben Kamm said during a detention hearing for Tyler Konigsmark, charged with sexual exploitation of children and enticement of minors, that the middle school student also verified the incidents. A medical exam showed she had injuries associated with sexual acts, he testified, and DNA evidence linked Konigsmark to the girl.

In addition, he said, two other girls - ages 13 and 14 - told police that Konigsmark sent them explicit photos of himself. Konigsmark has denied their assertions.

U.S. District Chief Magistrate Jon Scoles ordered that Konigsmark, a former Jefferson High School baseball and basketball player, be kept in custody pending trial. His trial is set for Sept. 19 in U.S. District Court.

If convicted of both counts, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison.

Konigsmark has pleaded not guilty to the charges in the indictment, which was unsealed last Thursday.

Kamm testified Tuesday the 13-year-old student said she didn't send any explicit photos to Konigsmark. But the 14-year-old student said she did send one to him.

Konigsmark met the three girls while working as a Cedar Rapids school district bus attendant from March through May, Kamm said. The bus route picked up Harding and Taft middle school students.

District spokesman Marcia Hughes said a statement went out to parents of children who may have been in contact with Konigsmark.

He was hired on March 7, according to the statement. Before being hired, Konigsmark passed background checks required by law.

As a bus attendant, he was responsible for the supervision and care of students on the bus.

District officials said in the statement they were contacted by the Hiawatha Police Department in May about possible misconduct involving Konigsmark. He was suspended and then terminated May 25.

District officials noted in the statement that 'student safety and security is always the district's highest priority.”

Hughes said parents have been made aware of how to report any additional concerns about Konigsmark to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Konigsmark and the girls told police they also used the Snapchat application to exchange photos, Kamm said. Snapchat photos are automatically deleted from the senders' and receivers' accounts after being read. Police don't have the photos, he said.

Kamm testified the 12-year-old told police she also contacted Konigsmark through text messages, but he didn't think any had been recovered. A forensic exam of Konigsmark's phone determined he had contact with at least one of the girls since April.

Christopher Nathan, Konigsmark's defense attorney, argued for his client's release from jail before trial. He said Konigsmark had cooperated with police and has no criminal history.

Nathan argued that Konigsmark isn't a flight risk - that he has lived in Cedar Rapids except for three months after high school when he attended a community college in Louisiana, and had possible employment in the area if released.

A baseball scholarship for Konigsmark to attend Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs has been withdrawn, Nathan said.

Konigsmark was living in his truck when he was arrested, Scoles said.