Ex-school bus driver from Hoffman Estates gets 5 years for abuse

A former school bus driver from Hoffman Estates who was found guilty of sexually abusing two 5-year-old girls in the Rockford area has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Peter Sanchez, 70, also was sentenced Friday to serve two years after getting out of prison on mandatory supervised release and must register as a sex offender.

Sheriff’s detectives began investigating Sanchez in May 2014 after one of the victims said he abused her on a bus. Sanchez was a driver for the South Beloit School District at the time.

He drove buses for First Student Bus Co. for about 15 years in South Beloit, Prairie Hill and other school districts.