Man charged with child sex assault 11 years after kids found living alone in school bus

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A man whose children were found living in a school bus eleven years ago is now facing unrelated criminal charges.

Montgomery County detectives arrested 62-year-old Mark Wayne Shorten of Splendora for sex assault of a child on July 26.

The sheriff's office said the arrest came after a lengthy and complicated investigation revealed the continuous sexual abuse of a young child over the course of multiple years between 2009 and 2022 in Montgomery County, as well as two counts of sexual assault in Montgomery County and Liberty County.

He's being held in the Montgomery County Jail with bonds totaling $1.5 million.

Detectives believe there could be more victims.

Shorten's children were found living on an abandoned school bus near Conroe in 2012, according to a previous report from ABC13.

Shorten and his wife Sherrie had both been in prison for wire fraud, deputies said.

A postal worker found the children living alone on the school bus. They were taken into CPS custody but were later reunited with their parents.

If anyone has information about other potential victims or the criminal activities of Shorten, contact the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office at 936-760-5800, option three, or Multi-County Crime Stoppers at 1-800- 392-STOP (7867) and reference case number 22A238124.