Judge rejects school bus driver's plea deal for 6 years in prison. Here's what is next.

CONCORD — A plea deal that included six years in prison for former school bus driver Michael Chick was rejected by a federal judge Monday.

The former employee of First Student drove bus routes in Greenland and Rye. In August 2022, Chick, an Eliot, Maine resident, was federally charged with stalking and threatening an 8-year-old Greenland Central School student on his bus route.

Chick, 40, signed off on a deal in May that would have imprisoned him for six years after pleading guilty to a federal charge of cyberstalking. But U.S. District of New Hampshire Chief Judge Landya McCafferty rejected the agreement, according to court records.

The decision means either a new deal needs to be negotiated or the case will head to trial.

“Counsel for both parties to notify the Court of how they intend to proceed,” court records state.

Chick’s legal representation, public defender Behzad Mirhashem, was asked whether he would negotiate a new plea deal for Chick, or whether the case will now head to trial.

“I don’t intend to make any comments to the media about this matter,” he replied in an email on Tuesday.

The cyberstalking offense carries a maximum prison term of 10 years, a maximum fine of $250,000 and a term of supervised release lasting no longer than three years.

An affidavit filed in the case alleges Chick gave several TracFones to the child and instructed him to take inappropriate photographs of himself. The affidavit further alleges Chick placed tracking devices on the child’s parents’ vehicles and traveled to the family’s home at night, where he walked the perimeter of the house.

Court documents state forensic examinations of Chick’s cell phone showed he had images and videos of the child and his family taken at retail stores, theme parks, sporting events and on the school bus.

The ex-bus driver was also accused of fabricating a story about a group of criminals called “The Team” to the child. Chick allegedly told the child that the fake organization would kidnap and torture the boy and hurt his family if he didn’t take inappropriate photographs and videos of himself.

“Some of the communications that Chick relayed to (the minor) contained threats directed towards (the minor) and/or (the minor’s) family,” the original plea deal states. “One such note shown by Chick to (the minor) read: ‘I AM GOING TO RUN OUT OF MONEY. $1000 per week is what is keeping your family alive and together. And I will run out of money.’ Another note Chick showed (the minor), which purported to be from the organization, read: 'You had too many chances this is not working we are done (expletive) around make this happen now or the kid disappears.’”

Chick admitted guilt in a June plea hearing with McCafferty,

The child’s family, however, did not support the plea deal for Chick and hoped for a longer sentencing, according to a recent sentencing memorandum filed by prosecuting U.S. Assistant Attorney Kasey Weiland.

“(The child’s) family has endured a terrible trauma, and the criminal justice system will never be able to fully restore the sense of security and personal safety that the defendant stole from them. Understandably, the family would like the defendant to remain in custody as long as possible,” Weiland wrote on Nov. 29. “The family relayed through counsel yesterday that after further reflection and deliberation, they have determined that they will not support the sentence recommended in the plea agreement. The United States anticipates that the family will address the Court in some manner at sentencing.”

Weiland’s memorandum states Chick searched for the child’s Little League schedule on his computer, as well as the property and tax records on the child’s family home.

The prosecution was additionally seeking three years of supervised release following the six-year prison sentence. Prosecutors also called for Chick to be barred from entering Rockingham County with the exception of “incidental travel” on Interstate 95, for him to submit to location monitoring and for him to participate in a sex offender treatment program, per court records.

The prosecution was also asking the court to prohibit Chick from conducting internet searches or online research about the victim and his family.

Chick was the boy’s school bus driver from approximately June 2020 until May 2022, according to court filings. The parents of the child became suspicious of Chick and reported him to both the town school district and police department in April 2022, according to court documents.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Judge rejects school bus driver's Michael Chick's plea deal