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Theron Cramatie was sentenced Thursday, April 28 in Kent County Circuit Court
(John Tunison | MLive Media)
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A former Go!Bus driver who sexually assaulted a special-needs passenger on the bus has been sentence to life in prison for what a judge described as "savage and brutal acts."
Theron Cramatie, 62, was sentenced Thursday, April 28 on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Kent County Circuit Court.
Police say he drove the 35-year-old woman -- the last one to be dropped off on the bus -- to a secluded location and raped her in January 2015.
Judge Dennis Leiber said the crime was despicable.
"That conduct saddens, sickens and disgusts whoever learns of these facts," he said.
"You abused your access and responsibility to perform these savage and brutal acts on this woman," he said.
Leiber sentenced Cramatie to 18 to 36 years on one count, then life in prison on the other count.
The mother of the victim read a letter from her daughter in court. Her family has filed a lawsuit against Cramatie, Grand Rapids City, Go!Bus, Network 180 and MV Transportation.
Cramatie drove the bus for MV Transportation, which contracts with The Rapid to provide service.
"I go through hell everyday," the victim wrote. "I thought you were my friend. I'm miserable all the time because you did this.
"It took trust from me. I feel awful and I feel used," she wrote.
"All night I read my bible so I don't think about you and what you did to me," she wrote.
E-mail John Tunison: jtunison@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/johntunison