Bus aide charged with sexual conduct after groping child on school bus

A man has been charged after reportedly groping a child on a school bus last year in Woodbury.

Raymond Matthew Cook, 51, has been charged with one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

According to court documents, police officers responded to a report of criminal sexual conduct on Oct. 22, 2024, that occurred on a school bus that was bringing a child home who lives in the 10500 block of Hawthorn Trail in Woodbury.

Law enforcement spoke with a woman who said her 6-year-old son had been saying for several weeks that he disliked riding the bus home from school because of a bus aide, later identified as 51-year-old Raymond Matthew Cook.

Court records say that the 6-year-old told authorities that on a bus ride home on Oct. 22, Cook was sitting next to him and “reached over and touched his penis over the clothing for several seconds.”

Officers interviewed the bus driver, who saw Cook sitting next to the child and having a whispered conversation, which he was “weirded out” by and made him feel “uncomfortable.”

Bus surveillance video showed that Cook was sitting next to the child, repeatedly leaned into his seat and reached toward him.

At one point, the child made a screeching sound, turned his body away from Cook and said, “it’s your fault,” according to court documents.

Cook’s first court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 12.