A former Pittsfield middle school teacher who later worked for Chicopee Public Schools has been indicted on six counts of possessing child sexual abuse material and one count of distributing material depicting a nude child, following an investigation that began with a civilian watchdog group and continued after a state police search of his Lenox home. Keith Harrison is scheduled to be arraigned in Berkshire County Superior Court on Tuesday, after a grand jury returned the indictment this past September.
Harrison, of Lenox, was first arrested and arraigned in Central Berkshire District Court earlier in September, according to The Berkshire Eagle. At that September 9 hearing, he pleaded not guilty to four initial charges: two counts of child pornography possession, one count of dissemination, and one count of attempting indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, according to a Berkshire District Attorney's Office press release. Prosecutors had sought $100,000 cash bail, but a judge instead set bail at $75,000 with strict conditions, including GPS monitoring with zero curfew, a ban on contact with minors under 18, and a prohibition on possessing any internet-capable device, as reported by iBerkshires.com.
How the Investigation Began
According to Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue, as reported by the Berkshire Eagle, Harrison was communicating online with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old and encouraged that person to engage in sexual acts. That person was actually a decoy working with The Decoy Project, a national non-profit whose adult volunteers pose as minors online to document illicit conduct and forward evidence to law enforcement, as described in a U.S. Department of Justice press release announcing an unrelated case. The group reported Harrison's behavior to the FBI's Cyber Tipline, and the bureau's investigation traced the device's IP address back to Harrison's Lenox address, per the Berkshire Eagle's account of Shugrue's statements.
Separately, the Berkshire District Attorney's Office said the FBI National Threat Center received information on August 23 indicating Harrison had used the chat platform Discord to identify himself as an adult and make explicit sexual requests to an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl. Shugrue said the investigation into Harrison was a joint effort with the FBI, per the Berkshire Eagle.
Search Warrant Turns Up Dozens of Devices
The Berkshire State Police Detective Unit executed a search warrant at Harrison's home at 52 Hubbard Street in Lenox on the morning of September 8, according to the district attorney's office. Police recovered at least 28 devices from the home, including seven iPhones, four tablets, three cameras, and a collection of CDs, hard drives and a gaming console, the Berkshire Eagle reported. Hundreds of files depicting child sexual abuse material were found among the seized devices, according to the district attorney's office.
A Teaching Career Spanning Three Districts
Harrison worked as a sixth-grade teacher at Pittsfield's Reid Middle School until 2024, the Berkshire Eagle reported. He was more recently employed by Chicopee Public Schools and was placed on paid administrative leave following his September arrest, according to Springfield-area media reports cited by the Eagle. The district attorney's office said Harrison was also previously employed as an educator within Holyoke Public Schools, extending his teaching history across a third Western Massachusetts district.
Chicopee Public Schools and city officials said in a statement that none of Harrison's alleged misconduct took place on school grounds, involved district equipment, or involved Chicopee students or staff, according to iHeart's KIX 100.9. Harrison also volunteered at Camp Taconic in Hinsdale in 2007, where he led the camp's challenge course, per the Berkshire Eagle.
What Comes Next in Superior Court
Harrison is held at the Berkshire County House of Correction with bail set at $75,000. He is scheduled to appear in Berkshire County Superior Court on Tuesday. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 272, Section 29B, a conviction for distribution of child sexual abuse material carries a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years and fines between $10,000 and $50,000, according to Sweeney & Associates, LLC. Separately, knowing possession of such material under Section 29C is a felony punishable by up to five years in state prison for a first offense, per the same source.
The case arrives amid a broader national surge in reported online enticement cases. CyberTipline reports involving child enticement rose 158% year-over-year following expanded federal reporting requirements for electronic service providers under the REPORT Act, according to 2025 data from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
