WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - A mentor for Shrewsbury High School was charged Monday in connection to child pornography charges, federal prosecutors announced.
Brian Lingard, 60, of Shrewsbury, is a software engineer who allegedly possessed and transported child pornography when he flew from Paris to Boston earlier this month. Investigators found child sexual abuse material on his phone, including 23 images depicting nude children under the ages 8 to 10 along with 125 videos of children performing sex acts, prosecutors allege. Investigators also said they found videos of girls as young as 3 years old.
“Lingard admitted to having child pornography on his Galaxy mobile phone,” the criminal complaint explained. “Lingard originally stated that he did not know where he downloaded the child pornography from but later admitted that he received it…”
His lawyer said he does not consider that to be a confession.
His phone also contained multiple pictures taken surreptitiously of fully clothed girls’ buttocks in what appears to be a school setting, allegedly in Shrewsbury High School according to GPS data. Lingard was the mentor for the Shrewsbury High School Robotics Team as a volunteer since 2013, the superintendent of Shrewsbury Public Schools said in a statement.
Superintendent Joe Sawyer also noted that Lingard passed all background checks and never accessed the school’s technology system.
“While the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicates that these images are not considered child pornography and are not part of the criminal charges, this information is deeply disturbing nonetheless,” Sawyer wrote to families in a statement. “Our school district will continue to communicate with the U.S. Attorney’s Office regarding these criminal charges and ongoing investigation, and we will provide any necessary information and support as necessary in the days ahead. “
Devices at Lingard’s home also “revealed an additional collection of alleged CSAM,” according to the office of the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.
Lingard faces up to 20 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. He was released Monday, but he must wear a GPS ankle bracelet and cannot have access to the internet.
Satbir Singh’s son is a senior on the Robotic Team, and he said his son worked with Lingard. He believes the school did its due diligence on vetting volunteers and wonders what went wrong.
“Pretty transparent to what the school knows, and they informed all the parents. I’m really glad they’re keeping us in the loop,” Singh said. “As a parent, it’s very concerning.”
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