Paul Held, 69, a retired teacher who prior to retirement in 2003 taught at Bedford Middle School, in Westport, Connecticut has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to receiving child pornography.

Held came to attention of authorities in August 2005 when he left a CD containing child pornography in a laptop computer which he borrowed and returned to a neighbor.

When investigators searched Held’s residence they seized six computers, three external hard drives and over 1,000 CD’s all of which allegedly contained child pornography. Held’s child pornography collection was alleged to contain between 3 and 4 million images classified as child pornography, some of the images were of children as young as 2 years old. Investigators said that Held also possessed numerous magazines, photos and VHS tapes containing child pornography.

In March of this year Held pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography.

In addition to serving ten years in federal prison, Held was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, register as a sex offender when released from prison, undergo a lifetime of supervised release and is prohibited from having contact with children under age 18 without the supervision of an adult who is familiar with his criminal history

References:

Former teacher sentenced to prison for collecting child porn (8/30/07)

Ex-Teacher Gets 10 Years For Enormous Child Porn Collection (8/30/07)

Former teacher sentenced to prison for collecting child porn (8/30/07)

Background:

Former middle school teacher held on porn charges (8/05/2005)

Former Bedford Teacher Ordered Jailed (8/05/2005)

Former Westport Teacher Pleads Guilty on Child Porn Charges (3/26/07)

Dru Jefferson, 27, a former assistant basketball coach for West Prairie-LaHarpe school systems near Sciota, Illinois and recently hired as an assistant coach for the West Prairie team has been charged with three counts of criminal sexual assault and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a female student.

Three separate cases have been filed against Jefferson, all alleging the same victim, a female student who was 16 and 17-years-old at the time of the alleged offenses between the summer of 2006 to June 2007. Reportedly the girl was a basketball player whom Jefferson coached.

Reportedly Jefferson was an assistant girls basketball coach for the West Prairie-LaHarpe sports coop for the past two years before being hired by West Prairie this year. School officials indicate that Jefferson resigned his new position before the start of the season.

Jefferson was arrested on Tuesday and released on $50,000 bond on Wednesday.

References:

Former coach faces sex abuse charges (8/30/07)

Former coach charged (8/29/07)

John McNair, 59, a former science teacher at Belleview Middle School and a former substitute teacher at Jim Allen Elementary School, both in Escambia County, Florida has been arrested on federal child pornography charges and also charges alleging the possession of obscene materials.

McNair came to the attention of authorities owing to crank/threatening phone calls that were allegedly traced to McNair’s residence. Calls during which the caller threatens to molest a grandchild if you hang up.

When FBI agents searched McNair’s home they allegedly found on his computer 160,000 pornographic images, three thousand images printed out mostly of children, 100 nude Barbie dolls, children’s underwear and in woods behind McNair’s house they discovered a “bunker” and inside it a little girl’s dollhouse.

Following his arrest McNair is being held in the Escambia County Jail.

Although McNair has no arrest records for sex crimes, authorities fear there are victims and are asking anyone with information call the FBI at (850) 432-3476.

McNair’s fiancee, Frances Hinely, 58, has been suspended with pay from her job as technology coordinator at Jim Allen Elementary School. A spokesperson for the school system said the district is investigating the extent of her knowledge of the events that led up to the arrest of her fiancee.

Earlier this week at a court hearing Hinely testified that she knew McNair had a cache of pornography on his computer and in his home, but had no clue that any of the images included children.

References:

Jim Allen teacher suspended

Former teacher arrested on sex charges (8/29/07)

Former Teacher Facing Child Porn Charges (8/30/07)