Former School Bus Driver Pleads Guilty To Sex With Minor Girl

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (STMW) -- A former Woodland School bus driver was sentenced to extensive probation Thursday in a negotiated guilty plea to the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl.

Kristin Miks, 33, of Wildwood, pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony which carries a potential sentence of up to seven years in prison.

Under an agreement reached between Assistant State's Attorney Jason Grindel and defense attorney Kevin Murphy, and approved by Judge Mark Levitt, Miks was sentenced to 36 months of felony probation, to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life and to undergo sex offender treatment.

She was also ordered to pay $2,500 to the Lake County Children's Advocacy Center, to complete 200 hours of community service and not to have contact with anyone 17 or younger with the exception of her biological children.

"This is incredibly serious," Levitt told Miks following her sentencing Oct. 17. "This is going to be a very rigorous period of probation for you."

Miks was formerly a bus driver for the Woodland School District in Gurnee. The charges were unrelated to her position as a school bus driver and the victim in the case was not a student of that district, officials said.

Prosecutors said the victim's family found explicit Facebook messages between Miks and the girl, and during a subsequent police investigation, the victim told police of sexual contact with Miks.

Miks also pleaded guilty to one count of cruel treatment of an animal, a Class A misdemeanor, as part of the agreement. That charge stemmed from police finding malnourished dogs in her care.

Her dogs were placed in new homes, and she is not allowed to have pets during her probation period.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)