MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — More than 11 years ago, a man’s kids went viral when officials discovered they were living alone in an abandoned school bus. Now, that father is behind bars after he was accused of sexually abusing a child.
Mark Shorten, 62, was arrested Wednesday night in New Caney. He remains in custody Thursday morning and is charged with two counts of sexual assault, including continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 years of age, a first-degree felony.
Some may recognize Shorten after he and his wife served time in prison for wire fraud and embezzling money from victims of Hurricane Ike in 2008.
While they were behind bars, their two children made national headlines after they were found abandoned in a broken-down school bus in 2012 in Splendora where an 11-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy were discovered living in deplorable conditions.
The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office and Child Protective Services were called out to investigate. Deputies learned the children's great-aunt was working 12-hour shifts to try and provide for them, so they were left unsupervised.
The children were later taken into CPS custody. Three months later KHOU 11 News was there as Mark Shorten was reunited with his kids after being released from prison.
At the time, he and his wife said they were trying to get their children back from CPS. Fast forward to today, Shorten is back in jail and accused of sexually abusing a child.