Retired Teacher Faces Child Porn Charges

We depend on teachers to protect and educate children. We hope that they will teach them right from wrong, just like parents are supposed to do. Unfortunately, sometimes teachers engage in unethical and illegal behaviors, such as soliciting sex from students and viewing and downloading child porn images.

This was the case for a retired Maryland teacher. The 70-year-old man, who now lives in New York, was arrested after the FBI received a tip in June 2021. A group of minors known as Predator Poacher use various social media accounts to chat with adults and then plan to meet for sex. One member of the group had chatted with the former teacher when he made contact through his Instagram account. The former teacher thought he was chatting with a 13-year-old girl and they made plans to meet at a store on Amherst Street in Buffalo, New York, on June 28.

The Predator Poacher group confronted the man when he arrived and interviewed him for almost an hour. During the interview, he admitted that he was a pedophile. The group called Buffalo police.

FBI investigators accessed the former teacher’s communications with the alleged 13-year-old girl. The two had communicated with each other between April and June 2021. The communication became graphic and sexual in nature and the man told the girl that he had once taught sex education. The man also communicated with an alleged 8-year-old girl through Predator Poacher. The communication between the two also became sexual in nature.

The man was a public school teacher for almost 25 years in Montgomery County, Maryland. Parents first became suspicious of his behavior back in June 2011. One parent filed a report with the assistant principal, claiming that her daughter, a 4th grade student, was a victim of the teacher’s inappropriate behavior. The man would pressure the girl and her friend to eat lunch with him. He also touched the girl inappropriately, hugging her and patting her hips and rear end.

Just a few months later, in September 2011, the superintendent announced that the teacher had resigned after the alleged misconduct. His teaching certificate was also revoked.

After the FBI received word of the recent allegations against the teacher, they searched his cell phone and found two child porn images. He was subsequently arrested and charged with child pornography possession and enticement of a minor. The man faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, with up to life in prison. He also faces a $250,000 fine.

Contact a Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney Today

Child porn charges are punished harshly and when the person also tries to entice a minor to have sex with them, the charges can become aggravated.

Need help defending child porn charges? The Columbia child pornography lawyers at the Law Offices of Todd K. Mohink, P.A. will aggressively fight for your legal rights. Even when prosecutors push for maximum penalties, we’ll help you get the best outcome possible. Fill out the online form or call (410) 774-5987 to schedule a consultation. We have two offices to serve you.

Resource:

thebaynet.com/articles/0821/retired-maryland-teacher-charged-with-child-porn-possession-and-enticement-of-a-minor.html