Former Church School Admin Faces Child Porn Charges

By Jace Larson
9 News
July 13, 2012

http://www.9news.com/news/article/277433/339/Ex-church-school-admin-faces-child-porn-charges?odyssey=tab|topnews|bc|large

[with video]

A judge has ordered a former private Christian school principal facing child porn charges to be released on bond while he awaits charges.

Daniel Ivan Ashby must stay at his parents' house and no one in the home is allowed to have a computer or internet access, a federal judge ruled Friday.

9Wants to Know was the first to report that a grand jury indicted Ashby this week. He has been charged with distributing and possessing child porn.

Daniel Ivan Ashby resigned from Community Christian School on Dec. 6, which is the same time the school learned of the investigation.

The FBI served a search warrant at the school in late 2011 and seized several computers from school offices, chairman of the church deacon board for Calvary Community Baptist Church Justin Welch told 9Wants to Know.

Community Christian School is operated by the Calvary Community Baptist Church.

9Wants to Know has been investigating claims that Ashby viewed child porn since December 2011.

Welch confirmed the principal's resignation to 9Wants to Know, but said he could not provide other details about the investigation.

"The safely of our children and families at the church and school are our number one priority," Welch said. "We do everything possible to provide a safe environment."

He also issued a statement to 9NEWS which read in part, "In December 2011, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Thornton Police Department took possession of several computers from the school offices. The school computers have been returned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and we have been told that there are no inappropriate or illegal materials contained on the computers, and they can be safely returned to use by the school. Given the nature of the claims, privacy interests of the former employee, our students and their families and the ongoing investigation, the church leadership cannot provide any further details at this time."

Court documents reviewed by 9Wants to know show the FBI also searched the home of the school administrator.

The documents show the federal investigation into the school administrator started Oct. 17, 2011 when an FBI agent discovered an Internet user thought to be sharing child pornography.

The user had traded suspected child pornography from IP addresses in Englewood, Denver and Lima, Peru.

On Oct. 24, 2011, an FBI employee served subpoenas on Qwest Communications and CBeyond Communications for IP address thought to have been used to transmit child porn.

One of the IP addresses matched Ashby's house in the metro area and also the Calvary Community Baptist Church in Northglenn.

From Nov. 10 to 12, an FBI agent used specialized software to download files from a shared folder on a computer thought to be distributing child pornography. Some of the files contained images of child pornography.

The images include two female children in one picture and other children in sexual positions in others. One picture shows a young girl engaged in sex with an adult.

An early 2011 church bulletin reviewed by 9Wants to Know included a letter from Ashby which stated he had spent the past 10 years working with a Christian school in Lima, Peru.

Have a comment or tip for investigative reporter Jace Larson? Call him at 303-871-1432 or e-mail him

Contact: jace.larson@9news.com