Newton teacher arrested on child porn charges

NEWTON, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) – A Newton teacher has been ordered held on $35,000 cash bail after being arrested on child pornography charges.

Steven Chan was arrested Thursday night and charged with two counts of possession and one count of dissemination of child pornography.

The 57-year-old Chan was arraigned Friday in Newton District Court. Chan was ordered to stay at least 50 yards away from Newton public schools. He also is prohibited from using the Internet or having unsupervised contact with anyone under 18.

Chan is a seventh-grade math teacher at the F.A. Day Middle School in Newton. He is also the boys' gymnastics coach at Newton North High School. Chan been suspended from his job.

Computers containing thousands of images were seized from Chan's home. Prosecutors said there were lewd photos of females as young as 4 years old. All of the images were commercial, none were produced by Chan.

Chan's lawyer said he unwittingly shared child pornography on his computer.

Superintendent David Fleishman said administrators have been told by the Middlesex district attorney that the investigation does not involve any Newton students. Fleishman will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. Friday to address Chan's arrest.

In January, another Newton teacher, David Ettlinger, was sentenced to a 45-year prison term by a federal judge in Louisiana for participating in an international child pornography ring.

Chan is married and has two sons, ages 19 and 23.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Cox Media Group