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Kevin Siegel, 45, of Garnet Valley, was charged with 17 counts of Child Pornography on Friday, Nov. 15, according to court documents. Siegel was a counselor at Northley Middle School, 2801 Concord Road, Aston.
A National Center for Missing and Exploited Children cyber tip led to an investigation by Delaware County Detectives that began on Friday, Sept. 13, the affidavit states.
Investigators found four child pornography images connected to an email account and IP address owned by Siegel, according to the affidavit. This led to a search warrant at Siegel's residence on Thursday, Oct. 24.
During the execution of the search warrant, Siegel told authorities that the images he had obtained were "a moment of weakness" and that it was the first time he'd ever done such a thing, the affidavit states. He claimed that he had since deleted the images.
Siegel's laptop and cellphone were searched, resulting in a total of 13 images of child pornography being found, according to the affidavit.
"While the district is reminded that a document of charges is not a conviction, the nature of the charges alone are extremely troubling and upsetting," Penn-Delco School District Superintendent George Steinhoff said in a statement to parents on Saturday, Nov. 16.
Siegel was immediately removed from the workplace and placed on leave as soon as the school district was made aware of the investigation into his activities, according to Steinhoff. However, the school district was unable to release information about Siegel while the investigation was ongoing.
Authorities told the school district that no current or former students were involved in the charges against Siegel and that none of the child pornography-related activities happened on school premises, Steinhoff said in the statement. That allowed the district to "take initial steps to protect the wellbeing of our students while also cooperating with an active and privileged law enforcement investigation."
The district confirmed that all of Siegel's certifications and background checks were current when the charges were filed, according to Steinhoff's statement.
Along with the 17 counts of Child Pornography, Siegel was also charged with 17 counts of Criminal Use of Communication Facility, court documents state.
Siegel is being held in Delaware County Prison on $100,000 bail, according to court documents. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 5.
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