August 30, 2024 - LOS ANGELES – A former elementary school teacher in the San Gabriel Valley is scheduled for arraignment today on a federal grand jury indictment charging him with receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.

Steven Pilar, 47, of Las Vegas, is charged in a four-count federal indictment with two counts of receiving child pornography and two counts of possessing child pornography.

A federal grand jury returned the indictment on July 19, 2024. Pilar was arrested on August 2 in Las Vegas, where he made his initial appearance. A federal magistrate judge in Nevada ordered Pilar jailed without bond. Pilar’s arraignment is scheduled for this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

According to the indictment, on February 8, 2020, and April 10, 2020, Pilar knowingly received and downloaded over 400 videos and images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) via BitTorrent for viewership. Pilar was employed as an elementary school teacher in La Puente at the time. He no longer works at the school.

Pilar was arrested on state charges, which were later dropped so a federal case could be pursued.

“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,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Protecting children from sexual predators is critical and my office will be unrelenting in our efforts to punish those who commit these crimes.”

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

If convicted, Pilar would face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 80 years in federal prison.

The FBI and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Joshua J. Lee of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
Source: DOJ Release