Plea Deal Could Get Alleged Child Predator 50 to 75 Years

A Seacoast-area bus driver facing serious federal and state charges may receive a plea deal from prosecutors that would place the man behind bars for the next 50 to 75 years, according to Strafford County Attorney Tom Velardi.

John Allen Wright, 45, of 52A Charles St. in Milton, faces five , one federal count of possession of child pornography, and .

Velardi said Wright — a Provider bus service employee who had transported children in Rockingham County, Strafford County, and Kittery, Maine, from 2008 until his arrest last fall — is currently scheduled for a federal jury trial in August in U.S. District Court in Concord, although Velardi said he has learned from Wright's legal counsel that the offer is on the table.

Velardi said the plea deal isn't a sign prosecutors are being lenient with Wright, although he said it could stop the state case from moving forward because a 50- or 75-year sentence could ultimately be a life sentence.

"If a sentence of that nature is handed down, there wouldn’t much else to do at the state level," said Velardi. "Both layers of prosecution are doing what they can to make sure Mr. Wright doesn’t pose a danger to families or children ever again."

The federal charges against Wright stem from a video that allegedly shows Wright pulling over his school bus and sexually assaulting a 3-to-5-year-old boy in New Hampshire. Wright is also accused of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old developmentally challenged student on his bus in Kittery, Maine.

Wright allegedly used a small camera attached to his glasses to perform the sexual acts. Investigators have said there could be more New Hampshire victims, and police have also found 10,000 child pornography images on Wright's computer.

Velardi called the allegations against Wright "disturbing," and he said any plea deal offered will be "commensurate" with the "nature" and severity of Wright's alleged actions. Velardi said it's possible the state will also offer a plea deal, although he reiterated it depends on the decision reached in the federal case.

"We're all waiting to see what happens with that," said Velardi. "It sort of behooves everyone to take a 'wait-and-see approach.' After whatever happens at the federal level, we'll kind of reconvene and determine [the next move]."

Wright has obtained new counsel in his case and is now being represented by the public defender's office, according to Velardi. Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen White Fitzgibbon is the prosecutor on the federal case.

Theresa Leppard, the press secretary for Fitzgibbon's office, couldn't be reached for comment.

Velardi said Wright's "trial date has been changed a bunch of times."

 Wright has been in federal and state custody since his arraignment in October and his indictment in December, and is still being held at the Strafford County House of Corrections, according to Velardi.

Velardi said Wright is being held on the local level on $50,000 cash bail. He said inmates have no bail when held on federal charges.