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William Zev Steen, 46, was sentenced to 23 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of release after pleading guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child.
Steen has since been terminated from his position as a STEM teacher at the all-girls Orthodox Jewish day school Bnos Yisroel in Baltimore. He later let go of other positions he held in the community, too.
According to his plea, 2005 to 2011, Steen sexually abused a minor victim, from the time she was 2 until she was 8 years old, recording at least two of those instances in 2008 when the girl was 5.
Steen also admitted that as recently as 2022, he collected and shared files depicting the sexual abuse of prepubescent minors using a Peer-to-Peer file sharing network.
The files documenting his abuse of the minor were also located on his digital devices when he was arrested in November 2022 days after being released on bond following an arrest for child porn offenses.
Steen became the center of an investigation after he was linked to websites sharing child pornography online, state police said. A search of his laptop and external hard drive determined that he had "numerous" child porn files that he was unsuccessful in deleting.
Steen's LinkedIn profile says he's the CEO of MirageID, an identity-tracking company. He was also heavily involved in TAG (Technology Awareness Group) Baltimore, which "provides free guidance on choosing devices, step-by-step filter installs, and live tech support 20 hours a day," its website says.
TAG announced that they terminated Steen after he was charged, but did not provide a reason.
“We are horrified and saddened to have to write and share this letter,” school officials previously said. “It is important to recognize that this traumatic experience presents an opportunity to have a conversation with your child about personal safety.
“We will continue to communicate with you, our parents, and our partners, as necessary
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