Latest news with #StevenPilar
CBS News
29-03-2025
- CBS News
Former teacher in San Gabriel Valley sentenced to 4 years for possession of child abuse videos
A former fifth grade teacher in the San Gabriel Valley was sentenced Friday to four years in federal prison for possession of more than 400 videos depicting sexual abuse of children. According to prosecutors, Steven Pilar, a 47-year-old resident of Las Vegas, knowingly received and downloaded the videos using his computer and a peer-to-peer file-sharing program called BitTorrent at his former home in Victorville. The 444 videos showed abuse against a child under 12, an infant and a toddler, and prosecutors said Pilar knew what they depicted when he downloaded them. The crimes occurred in February and April of 2020, prosecutors said. At the time, he was working as a fifth-grade teacher in the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District. He is no longer employed at the school. He was arrested on state charges in April 2020 which were eventually dismissed so federal prosecutors could take over the case. "His actions caused direct and significant harm to the victims in this case, and his offense is aggravated by fact that he was teaching young children at the time," reads a sentencing memorandum filed by federal prosecutors, saying his crimes carried out a "perpetual re-victimization of the victims." Pilar has been in federal custody since last August and pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography in December. When he was sentenced, U.S. District Judge Sunshine S. Sykes also ordered him to pay $115,000 in restitution.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Yahoo
Former Southern California elementary school teacher sentenced in child porn case
A former Southern California elementary school teacher was sentenced to prison for possessing hundreds of child sex abuse material. Steven Pilar, 47, of Las Vegas, formerly worked as a fifth grade teacher at the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District in the San Gabriel Valley school, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. In February and April of 2020, while living in Victorville, Pilar used BitTorrent, a digital file-sharing software, to download videos and images of child pornography from the web and onto his computer. Prosecutors said he received and downloaded around 444 videos and images containing children engaging in sexually explicit conduct and 'knowingly possessed the videos for a time before deleting them.' In April 2020, Pilar was arrested on state charges, which were later dropped so a federal case could be pursued, officials said. In August 2024, he was charged with two counts of receiving child pornography and two counts of possessing child pornography. In December 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. 'His actions caused direct and significant harm to the victims in this case, and his offense is aggravated by the fact that he was teaching young children at the time,' prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum. 'In fact, when [Pilar] downloaded and viewed the CSAM, he took part of a perpetual re-victimization of the victims.' On March 28, Pilar was sentenced to four years in federal prison. 'Protecting children from sexual predators is critical and my office will be unrelenting in our efforts to punish those who commit these crimes,' said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
