The driver, Michael Chick, 39, of Maine is also accused of telling the boy that “The Team” would kidnap and torture him, as well as hurt his family, if he didn’t give into the group’s demands, which included sending photos of himself.
Chick appeared in court on Aug 8 and the court ordered he be detained until an Aug 18 detention hearing, a Justice Department news release says.In April, the boy’s parents first reported their concerns about Chick to Greenland Central School after he allegedly gave their children gifts and left letters at their home when they were absent, court documents show.
On July 2, the boy’s parents arrived at the Greenland police station to report they had found two Tracfone cellphones hidden in a lunchbox in the child’s closet that Chick had given him, the affidavit states. In an interview, the boy told officers Chick had called the child over to his bus and given him the phones.
Eventually, a search warrant of Chick’s home in Eliot, Maine, revealed notes written on school bus student permission slips, including one that stated: “I am going to run out of money. US$1,000 per week is what is keeping your family alive and together,” the affidavit shows. Meanwhile, other investigators executed a search warrant of Chick’s car and found “a TracFone, a digital camera, duct tape, rubber gloves, sweet liquor, candy, children’s clothing including underwear, children’s toys, a magnetic GPS vehicle tracker along with his T-Mobile cellphone,” according to court documents.