Former Sunday school teacher, coach gets 6-23 months for possessing child porn

By Alex Rose
Daily Times
September 19, 2014

http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20140919/former-sunday-school-teacher-coach-gets-6-23-months-for-possessing-child-porn

MEDIA COURTHOUSE — A former Parkside Sunday school teacher and youth basketball coach who pleaded guilty in June to possessing child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility was sentenced to serve 6-23 months at the county prison in Concord Friday.

Steven Daniel Almond, 55, of the first block of West Forestview Road, will serve three months at the prison followed by three months of electronic home monitoring, under the sentence handed down by Judge Gregory Mallon. He will report to the prison Oct. 3 at 6 p.m.

Almond, who served as a deacon at the Middletown Presbyterian Church, turned himself over to authorities in June 2013 on two counts of disseminating photos or films of child sex acts, 25 counts of sexual abuse of children for possession of child pornography and 27 counts of criminal use of a communication facility.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, County Det. Joseph Walsh, a member of the county’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, identified a computer sharing suspected child pornography on a peer-to-peer file network on June 6, 2013.

Investigators downloaded two files from an Internet protocol address depicting prepubescent girls involved in sexual acts, one of which included intercourse with an adult male. Walsh traced the IP address back to a home computer at Almond’s Forestview Road home.

Authorities including county detectives, the FBI, and police from Parkside and Aston executed a search warrant at that address on June 13. Almond was advised he was not under arrest, but that police were conducting an investigation into the sharing of child pornography, according to the affidavit.

Police said Almond voluntarily admitted he had files of child pornography on his computer, with the youngest child probably13 or 14 years old.

Authorities confiscated four computers, a portable hard drive, two USB flash drives, three cellphones and 22 CDs and DVDs. Walsh allegedly found more than 50 videos depicting children under the age of 18 engaging in sexual acts, according to the affidavit, including those less than 5 years old.

Almond apologized to the court prior to sentencing. Defense attorney William Davis said Almond is currently working with his brother, an electrical engineer. He noted Almond downloaded images of child pornography, but never had physical contact with children.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Galantino said Friday that the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board found Almond is not a sexually violent predator, but he will have to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law for 15 years.

Almond will also have to serve seven years of concurrent sex offender probation, provide a DNA sample to state police and forfeit the computers.