Paul Baird of Keene – a former bus driver for the company that serves the ConVal School District – was sentenced Wednesday for his role in sexually exploiting a minor female victim under the age of 12 to produce child sexual abuse material.
According to a Thursday release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire, U.S. District Court Judge Steven J. McAuliffe sentenced Baird to 300 months in federal prison – 25 years – and 20 years of supervised release. In March, Baird pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the production of child sexual abuse material.
“The defendant committed an appalling betrayal of trust by abusing a child in his care to produce sexually exploitative material,” stated acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack. “Yesterday’s lengthy sentence reflects the gravity of his crimes and ensures that he will not be able to harm other children. This office has zero tolerance for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.”
According to the charging documents and statements made in court, on Jan. 29, 2024, Baird took at least one sexually explicit photograph of a minor’s genitalia and posted sexually explicit images of the minor on a website that posted child sexual abuse images. During the investigation, law enforcement found images and videos that constitute child CSAM on the defendant’s phone.
At the time of his and wife Krystal’s arrest in March 2024, Baird was a bus driver for the Student Transportation of America, which serves ConVal. After the arrest, STA spokesperson Jen Holzapfel stated that he had been with the company since September 2023 after passing a background check, and was fired immediately.
Kimberly Rizzo Saunders, who was ConVal’s superintendent at the time, stated that Baird was never a district employee, and that ConVal would immediately begin reviewing its transportation safety protocols and a review with STA of its policies and practices.
“Yesterday’s sentencing of Paul Baird underscores our staunch commitment to protecting the most-vulnerable members of our society. The heinous acts committed by Baird are a stark reminder of the critical importance of our work in combating child exploitation,” stated special agent in charge of HSI New England Michael J. Krol. “HSI New England, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue justice for victims and ensure that perpetrators of such abhorrent crimes are held accountable.”