Southern California elementary school teacher accused of distributing child pornography

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. (KTLA) -- Sheriff's investigators arrested a man who works as a 5th-grade teacher in the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District on Wednesday on suspicion of sharing child pornography, officials said.

Steven Victor Pilar, 43, was booked on suspicion of distribution of child pornography following his 10:30 a.m. arrest at his Victorville home, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and county booking records.

Detectives from the department's Crimes Against Children Detail and Hi-Tech Division were following leads when they learned illicit images were being distributed from Pilar's home, sheriff's officials said. They showed up with a warrant and interviewed Pilar.

“At the end of the interview with Pilar, he was arrested for distribution of over a thousand images and videos of child pornography,” the statement said.

Pilar was employed as a 5th-grade teacher within the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District, officials said. He taught at Baldwin Academy in La Puente, Interim Superintendent Anni Bui said in a written statement. School officials first learned of the arrest on Thursday, she said.