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Steven L. Schwartz, 54, was sentenced Thursday, March 7, by Dutchess County Court Judge Peter Forman, said Dutchess County Senior Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Richard.
Schwartz, an ex-Wappingers elementary school teacher will also have to register as a sex offender for the next 20 years.
He was arrested after an investigation by New York State Police found several photographs on his cellphone of child pornography. The investigation was initiated after the teacher made inappropriate comments to a student, the state police said.
Following his arrest, Schwartz, of Poughkeepsie, pleaded guilty to one felony count of possessing a sexual performance by a child.
During his sentencing, he told the judge that he was truly sorry and knew that he had re-victimized the children by looking at the photos which included shots of male genitals.
In his ruling, the judge said Schwartz found the images on Google searches and there wasn't any evidence he had shared or sold them. He also took into account Schwartz's ongoing psychotherapy treatment and his lack of a criminal history.
The DA's office had asked for six months in jail, but the judge instead issued the electronic monitoring which allows him to go to work, visit his mother in a nursing home and attend his two children's graduations.
Schwartz will also have to attend sex offender treatment and is not allowed to be alone around children until further treatment warrants a change in status.
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