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Ryan Gibbon Stewart, 47, Jonestown, Lebanon County, was a Boy Scout leader and father of four children who taught in both the Northern Lebanon and Susquehanna Township school districts, according to the Pennsylvania State Police and public records.
The current Northern Lebanon School District student received a "dick pic" — that turned out to be a full-frontal nude image — from a former Science teacher in his Snapchat while camping with family in June, as explained in the affidavit of probable cause.
Stewart claimed he sent the photo accidentally and intended to send it to someone else with a similar name he recently met, according to the message log police cited in the affidavit. Stewart added the former student on Snapchat in 2023, but they never messaged each other before the incident, Troopers explained.
During an interview with the state police in July, Stewart "related he was in an open homosexual relationship and he is accustomed to sending nude images to individuals he interacted with," as stated in the affidavit. He also said he doesn't friend students on Snapchat and didn't recall accepting the student's request or making one himself.
When troopers asked Stewart to turn over his phone he said he would but he never gave it to PSP, according to the affidavit. He later claimed to have deleted the image and gotten a new phone.
The troopers have yet to see the photo, only the messages between the student and the former teacher were visible on the child's phone as Snapchat deletes photos within a short period of time.
Stewart has been charged with two felony charges of disseminating explicit sex material to a minor and unlawful contact with a minor, as well as a misdemeanor for the corruption of minors.
His preliminary arraignment was held before Magisterial District Judge John W. Ditzler at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 20. Bail was set at $25,000 but he was released on a bond signature, court records show.
He is scheduled to appear before Judge Ditzler again for his preliminary hearing at 8 a.m. on Sept. 26.
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