A former elementary faculty instructor in La Puente has been charged with two counts of receiving baby pornography and two counts of possession, the U.S. Legal professional’s workplace in Los Angeles mentioned Friday.
Steven Pilar, 47, had been scheduled for arraignment on a federal grand jury indictment in U.S. District Courtroom in downtown L.A. on Friday. He had been indicted in July and arrested earlier this month in Las Vegas, the place he resides. On the time, he was ordered jailed with out bond.
The indictment alleged that Pilar used BitTorrent, a digital file-sharing protocol, to knowingly obtain 400-plus movies and pictures of kid intercourse abuse materials in February and April 2020. On the time, Pilar taught at a La Puente elementary faculty; he now not works there, in keeping with the U.S. Legal professional’s workplace.
“This defendant, whose former job put him able of belief with youngsters, is accused of taking part in an underground market that trades on the sexual exploitation of children,” mentioned Martin Estrada, U.S. legal professional for the Central District of California, in an announcement. “Defending youngsters from sexual predators is important and my workplace shall be unrelenting in our efforts to punish those that commit these crimes.”
Pilar would face a compulsory minimal sentence of not less than 5 years in federal jail if he’s convicted. The case was investigated by the FBI and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Division.