UPDATED: School Bus Driver Charged With Sexual Assault of 2 Boys

A Port Washington school bus driver faces three felony counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child under 13 for .

Randy R. Mayer, 225 S. Madison Ave., Port Washington, faces up to 180 years of prison if convicted on all three Class B felony counts. The charges are associated with incidents involving two boys, 9 and 10 years old, which took place between Oct. 1-13, 2011. The Port Washington Police Department interviewed 37 students about the allegations, said Police Chief Richard Thomas.

According to the criminal complaint, while driving, Mayer would make kids sit on the small box next to the driver’s seat if they were "acting up or getting out of control." Both the 9- and 10-year-old boy said this seemed to happen to them more often than other students on the bus, and girls were never called up to the "dog house," as Mayer allegedly called it.

Mayer allegedly "tickled" the boys, "pretend to slap them on their cheeks or tug at their ear lobes."

On one occasion while the 10-year-old was sitting up front, Mayer reached over to "tickle" the boy under his shorts, and allegedly brushed against his penis. On two occasions, Mayer touched the 9-year-old's privates above his clothing. The boy told authorities he felt the first incident might have been accidental, but not the second.

Mayer was a driver for Johnson Company, which provides bus services to all Port Washington public schools. Joyce Buchholz, the manager of Johnson Company's Port Washington office, when the company received a phone call from a parent. Buchholz fired Mayer on Oct. 13 after learning about the "dog house," which she classified as "dangerous" behavior.

Wisconsin statutes dictate two levels of basic sexual assault as it pertains to children, categorizing them into groups of younger than 13 (first degree) and between 13 and 16 (second degree). Because both of the boys are younger than 13, Mayer has been charged with first-degree felonies.

Mayer will make his initial appearance in court at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday for a bail hearing.