McKeesport bus driver snagged by state's Child Predator Unit for alleged explicit messages

A McKeesport bus driver is accused of sending sexually explicit messages and photos to a Massachusetts police officer posing as a minor, leading to his arrest Monday by agents from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office.

Todd Murray, 55, faces five felony charges, including corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor, court records show. He allegedly went so far as to make plans to drive to Massachusetts to meet who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.

Murray worked as a part-time bus driver for Pennsylvania Coach Lines as recently as early January, and his job included driving minors and their coaches to sporting events, said Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

He said Murray will be fired and the charter bus company has cooperated with the investigation.

“The defendant had exposure to children through his work as a bus driver and was entrusted to keep them safe,” Shapiro said in a statement. “Instead, he betrayed that trust and preyed on minors online.”

Murray began chatting online with an undercover detective from the Newberry, Mass., police department in October, Shapiro said. The detective posed as a 14-year-old girl, and Murray’s messages “quickly turned sexual,” according to the release.

The criminal complaint said Murray told the undercover officer – who he believed to be 14 –that he would take a road trip to see her. He also allegedly sent two obscene images to the undercover officer, which he claimed showed another underage girl performing a sex act.

Murray continued to message the officer posing a teen girl over the course of several months, sending his phone number and photos of his Ford Explorer, according to the complaint.

The complaint said Murray made plans to travel to Massachusetts in December and get a motel room, but called off the plan days prior because of his “financial situation.”

Once detectives determined Murray lived in Pennsylvania, Shapiro’s office began investigating, and agents arrested Murray Monday. He was being held in Allegheny County Jail after failing to post $100,000 cash bail.