Man charged with possession of child porn
June 27, 2012
By Sebastian Moraga
Court documents state that discs found in the home of Theodore A. Bernstein, a substitute teacher for the Snoqualmie Valley School District, contained pedophilic writings, many with a theme of cruelty, violence and decapitation of children, and even necrophilia.
Bernstein, 64, has been charged with two counts of first-degree possession of child pornography.
Charges were filed June 22 in King County Superior Court, according to documents from the prosecuting attorney’s office.
The office has requested Bernstein be forbidden from having access to minors and that bail be set at $50,000, based on the prosecutors’ concern that Bernstein may skip future hearings, court documents stated.
Bernstein has a history of overseas travel and a vacation scheduled for July 2012, documents stated.
Another concern was Bernstein’s possession of documents describing “the physical abuse, torture and murder of children,” according to court documents.
Bernstein has no prior criminal history. He has worked for the district since 2003, according to Carolyn Malcolm, public information coordinator for the district.
Malcolm said Bernstein was certified for grades kindergarten through 12 and he worked at a majority of the district’s schools.
“He was cleared to work in Washington schools,” she said. “We followed the state and federal guidelines for all employees in Washington schools and he passed our background check.”
Arraignment is set for July 2. Sentencing for a conviction on first-degree possession of child porn ranges from 26 months to 34 months, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office. Child porn possession is a class B felony, with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
On May 11, King County Sheriff’s Office deputies received a tip that Bernstein’s Facebook page had a link to a website advertising images of little girls in lingerie or bathing suits, according to the probable cause documents.
Police contacted school district officials, who then called Bernstein and told him he was suspended.
When contacted by police, Bernstein first denied but then confirmed he had a Facebook page, and denied posting the link or looking at child porn, according to the probable cause documents.
He then agreed to turn in his computer and to take a lie-detector test.
That same day, at about 2:20 p.m., a sergeant with the Washington State Patrol called the sheriff’s office saying his neighbor, Bernstein, had asked him for advice because someone had posted child porn to his Facebook page. Bernstein told his neighbor he had looked at child porn but denied posting the link, according to the probable cause documents.
At about 2:45 p.m., sheriff’s office deputies searched Bernstein’s house with his consent. He turned over an iMac computer, a MacBook laptop and some compact discs.
At about 3:20 p.m., Bernstein told sheriff’s office Detective Chris Knudsen by phone that he had looked at child porn on his iMac computer at home but thought that since he was at home, it was OK. He added that part of him knew it was wrong and that he sometimes masturbated while looking at child porn.
Bernstein told Knudsen that he thought he had seen photos of children having sex but wasn’t sure, according to the probable cause documents. He added he never used the laptop to look at child porn, just the iMac.
He had some saved in his computer, but had panicked and had erased it before detectives arrived.
A forensic search of both computers found images and videos of children on DVDs and the iMac, some clearly pre-pubescent, engaged in sexual behavior.
Malcolm said the district looked into Bernstein’s use of district-owned computers, including his emails and his Web browser history, and came up empty.
“We have looked into this individual’s Web browsing and have no evidence of any unprofessional contact at work,” she said. “We never received a complaint or a concern about this individual.”
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