Former Deep Creek Middle School teacher sentenced to 25 years for child porn

Yahoo

12-03-2025

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — The one-time Chesapeake school teacher who was found to be storing child porn on his personal devices was sentenced to 25 years in prison Tuesday afternoon.
. Under the terms of his plea deal, the maximum sentence was capped at 25 years. The judge's sentence also included additional years of suspended time.
Palomares was arrested in October after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children flagged his Snapchat account for child sexual abuse material.
Chesapeake teacher arrested for possession of child sexual abuse material
A detective in the case specializing in digital evidence testified that they found two devices containing images of child sexual abuse material when they executed a search warrant at Palomares' home. One computer contained over 300 images. Investigators also found 200 to 300 photos taken with his iPhone of the students in his classroom.
The photos contained GPS metadata that confirmed they were taken at Deep Creek Middle School. The detective explained that he recognized the school, because he had attended it as well.
Outraged Chesapeake mother on charges against teacher: 'It was disgusting'
The detective also noted that none of the photos showed any nudity, but many were taken at weird angles, suggesting Palomares was trying to conceal that he was taking them.
No charges were filed related to the classroom photos, which aren't considered child porn.
Another detective testified that he confronted Palomares with those images during his initial arrest. He said Palomares initially suggested his accounts had been hacked, but later admitted the photos were his, saying they were 'highly inappropriate, and I shouldn't have them.'
The first detective also testified about Palomares' search history, saying that on one day, just 30 minutes before showing up for work at the school, he searched for teacher-student-related porn.
That 'borders on a fantasy that is very dangerous,' the prosecutor said in closing arguments.
'This is literally a parent's worst nightmare,' she reiterated in closing arguments.
The Commonwealth's Attorney also tried to show that Palomares lacked remorse, drawing large distinctions between the responsibility he purported to be taking in pretrial documents and the lies he told to assuage his family.
She noted that he had made more than 400 calls from jail. Around the time of his preliminary hearing, she said Palomares told his family he was innocent.
'This is just Chesapeake being Chesapeake,' he said in another call, according to testimony.
In closing arguments, Palomares' defense attorney suggested he may have lied to protect his own safety while being held in jail.
For his part, Palomares apologized for lying, saying in a lengthy allocution that he had come to terms with his actions while incarcerated.
He also said he had been the victim of child sexual abuse at the hands of a Boy Scout leader as a minor, and had grown up in a digital world 'without guardrails.'
'Strangely, it felt comforting seeing the same abuse I had endured,' he said, describing his viewing of child porn while as an adolescent.
He also said his parents weren't to blame and couldn't have done anything to prevent the abuse.
'Oftentimes the victim becomes the offender,' Palomares testified, describing the trauma circle of abuse.
The prosecutor requested the full 25-year maximum sentence, adding that it was probably less than what he deserved.
'These are not preteen children… [who] could be mistaken for adults,' she stressed, describing the identified victims in the child sexual abuse material on his computer.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.