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School bus aide accused of sexually assaulting 6-year-old Woodbury boy

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WOODBURY, Minn. — A school bus aide faces a felony charge after allegedly sexually assaulting a Woodbury boy on a bus ride home.

Raymond Cook, 51, is charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct, court documents filed in Washington County earlier this month show.

Last October, police responded to a Woodbury neighborhood after a 6-year-old boy told his mother a bus aide — later identified as Cook — had assaulted him, according to a criminal complaint. The mother told officers the boy "for several weeks had been expressing dislike for riding the bus home school due to a bus aide," the complaint states.

Police interviewed the school bus driver from the day of the alleged assault, who said he was "weirded out" by Cook's behavior and "uncomfortable" with how close he was sitting to the boy.

Surveillance footage from inside the bus showed Cook sitting next to the boy, "repeatedly leaning" into the boy's seat and "reaching towards" him, the complaint states. The footage captured the boy screeching at one point, then turning away from Cook and saying, "It's your fault."

Cook was charged by summons. If convicted, the maximum sentence for the felony charge is 25 years in prison.


Sexual Assault Resources

General Sites for information related to sexual assault and resources throughout Minnesota:

General Sexual Assault Websites:

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