A former elementary school teacher in the San Gabriel Valley faces federal charges for his involvement in the possession and receipt of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Steven Pilar, a 47-year-old Las Vegas resident, was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 19, 2024, and is to be arraigned today in downtown Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
The indictment includes two counts of receiving child pornography and two counts of possession. Pilar's arrest in Las Vegas took place on August 2, where a federal magistrate judge ordered him jailed without bond. The charges allege that Pilar knowingly received and downloaded over 400 videos and images of CSAM through BitTorrent on February 8, 2020, and April 10, 2020, during his tenure as a La Puente elementary school teacher. He has since ceased employment at the school. U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada emphasized the gravity of such crimes, stating, "This defendant, whose former job put him in a position of trust with children, is accused of participating in an underground market that trades on the sexual exploitation of kids."
Before the federal indictment, Pilar faced state charges which were dropped to allow for federal prosecution. The serious nature of the allegations underlines a determined effort to crack down on individuals who exploit children. "Protecting children from sexual predators is critical and my office will be unrelenting in our efforts to punish those who commit these crimes," Estrada asserted.
The potential consequences of a conviction for Pilar are severe, with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum of 80 years. The FBI, alongside the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, is conducting further investigation into the case. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua J. Lee from the General Crimes Section will prosecute the case, seeking justice for the crimes alleged.
