A 69-year-old employee at Lakefield Copper Beech Middle School in Westchester, New York, has been arrested and charged with possessing and uploading child sexual abuse material. Authorities allege that Francis John Teeling stored and shared disturbing videos and photographs of children, some as young as five years old, engaged in sexual acts.
The Westchester County District Attorney's Office announced the charges, stating that Teeling allegedly uploaded a digital file depicting female children between the ages of 7 and 10 in a sexual act to Microsoft Bing. Investigators also reportedly discovered a digital file at his home in Shrub Oak showing a 5-to-8-year-old female child in a similar context.
Teeling was arrested by Yorktown police on Tuesday and arraigned in Yorktown Town Court. He faces felony charges of promoting and possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child, which carry a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. Teeling is currently being held on $10,000 cash bail, $25,000 bond, and a $50,000 partially secured bond.
The investigation was initiated by a referral from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the New York State Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with assistance from the District Attorney's High Technology Crime Squad.
Westchester District Attorney Susan Cacace issued a statement urging parents to remain vigilant, monitor their children's online activity, and educate them about the dangers of sharing explicit images online, especially with unknown individuals. Teeling is scheduled to return to court on September 22.