Crime & Safety

New Details in Newton Teacher Busted for Child Porn

Steven Chan, 57, of Newton, pleaded not guilty to child porn charges on Friday.

Newton Public Schools officials said they were shocked Friday at the arrest of Day Middle School teacher Steven Chan on child pornography charges as more details emerged. 

“The arrest of Steven Chan is a shocking event for the Newton Public Schools,” Newton Public Schools Superintendent Daivd Fleishman said. “It’s even more shocking in light of the fact that we had another teacher [David Ettlinger] arrested for child pornography charges just 18 months ago."

Chan, 57, of Newton, was arrested Thursday and pleaded not guilty during a Newton District Court arraignment hearing on Friday. A judge set $35,000 cash bail but it was not clear whether Chan had posted that.

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NEW DETAILS 

·      Newton Public Schools Superintendent David Fleishman said Chan had been placed on paid administrative leave and that the district would soon move to terminate his employment.

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·      “We are going to act very swiftly given the seriousness of these charges,” Fleishman said.

·      Also, Fleishman said Chan has no prior record of complaints of a “similar nature,” adding “nothing that I would describe as serious. Nothing criminal.”

·      Newton Police Chief Howard Mintz said the investigation was still ongoing and said anybody with information on the case should call Newton Police 617-796-2104.

·      Fleishman said the district performed a CORI and SORI check on Chan in April 2011 and was set to perform another in April 2014.

·      Under state law, newly-hired teachers are CORI and SORI checked every two years, while older teachers are checked every three years, according to Fleishman.

·      “We have very thorough hiring practices in Newton,” Fleishman said, adding the district will have time later to review them again.

·      “Once people are here … we are vigilant about watching their behavior with students,” Fleishman said.

·      “For the most part … [the hiring system] works well,” Fleishman said of the hiring practices. “[The Chan and Ettlinger cases] are just two cases that are inexplicable.”

·      The District Attorney’s office told Fleishman no Newton students were involved in the investigation.

·      Mintz said there was no indication Chan was distributing the material for profit.

·      Mintz elaborated on how authorities caught Chan. He said the State Police task force, which is partly composed of three Newton officers and Department of Homeland Security officers, search the Internet for illegal child porn material. “IP addresses pop up and are tracked down from there,” Mintz said.

·      Mintz also said there was no criminal link between Chan’s and Ettlinger’s cases.

·      Fleishman said neither Ettlinger nor Chan had prior records.

·      Fleishman said Chan was a committed 23-year teacher with whom he had previously done classroom observations.

·      Chan’s brother-in-law is a Newton Public Schools science teacher, according to Fleishman.

 


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