Modesto couple sexually abused kids and infant, produced child porn, prosecutors say

Nov. 5--A Modesto couple has been convicted and sentenced to prison for sexually abusing three children, which included an infant. The conviction included charges of producing child pornography.

Authorities arrested Terry William Bush and his then girlfriend Tiffany Dawn McGuire in July 2015 after Modesto police investigators found incriminating photos and messages at the couple's home, prosecutors said.

Bush on Sept. 6 pleaded no contest to three counts of committing lewd acts on a child younger than 14 years old, one count of oral copulation of a child younger than 10, and one count of committing a lewd act with a 14-year-old child, the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday in a news release.

Prosecutors also said that Bush admitted to committing sexual assault crimes against victims younger than 14 in three special allegations, which lengthened his prison sentence. Several other sexual abuse charges were dropped after the no contest plea.

Also on Sept. 6, McGuire pleaded no contest to one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child younger than 14, one count of committing a lewd act with a child younger than 14, two counts of using a child to create child porn, and one count of possession of child porn, according to prosecutors.

On Oct. 21, Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff sentenced Bush, 43, to 40 years to life in prison for his sexual abuse crimes. But prosecutors said Bush could become eligible for "elderly parole" after spending 25 years behind bars because of changes in state law.

Zeff on the same day last month sentenced McGuire, 35, to 20 years in prison. Bush and McGuire will be required to register as convicted sex offenders with the nearest local law enforcement agency once they are released from prison.

Bush on Tuesday was serving his sentence at North Kern State Prison in Delano, and McGuire was serving hers at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla.

Bush will be eligible for parole in November 2046, according to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. McGuire's potential parole date was not available.

Deputy District Attorney Merrill Hoult prosecuted the case. The prosecution has said the sexual abuse dated back to June 2005 with one of the children and continued with the others through June 2015, according to an amended criminal complaint filed in July 2015.

Bush and McGuire lived together at the time of their arrest, and some of the victims lived there, too. At least one of the children was related to Bush, Modesto Police Department officials have said.

The investigation began when a 14-year-old girl told police that Bush had sexually assaulted her, authorities say. Bush initially was arrested on suspicion of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, and was released from jail on $50,000 bail.

Detectives then served a search warrant at the home where Bush and McGuire lived. Investigators found at the home cell phones and other electronic devices that contained images and text messages that showed Bush and McGuire sexually abusing the other children.

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