School bus driver gets 151 years to life for molesting girls

An Orange County school bus driver convicted of molesting and taking pornographic photographs of young girls was sentenced Thursday to 151 years to life in prison, authorities said.

Terry Lee Shields, 55, of Buena Park was convicted earlier this month on 15 felony counts, including kidnapping, forcible lewd acts on a minor child and using a minor for sex acts, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. Shields lured his victims -- ages 5, 7, and 11 -- by gaining the trust of their families and in one case by promising a trip to Disneyland, prosecutors said.

He molested the girls and had them pose for graphic photos, authorities said. Two of the victims were molested over a period of three years, according to prosecutors.

Shields, a bus driver for the Los Alamitos School District, was arrested in 2006 after he was spotted looking at child pornography at a Bellflower cyber cafe.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators found in his possession numerous discs, videos and computer files of child pornography, including some featuring infants and toddlers, according to the district attorney. The images led authorities to the Orange County victims.

When Shields was arrested, investigators called the case one of the most disturbing they had seen, citing the volume and graphic nature of the material found in his possession.

Investigators also found high-powered binoculars, digital cameras, elementary school identification cards, school yearbooks, Elmo dolls and other toys that Shields allegedly used in his crimes.

The mother of one victim asked the judge at Thursday’s hearing to give Shields the maximum sentence. She said she may never know the full extent of the crime because her 5-year-old daughter has a mental disability, according to the district attorney.

victoria.kim@latimes.com