Lynwood, CALIFORNIA

Pictures showed an infant being raped. The Alhambra man told investigators that paying for child pornography was "entertainment to him, like a video game."

Nov 29, 2007 -
In Lynwood, Kenneth Kothe, 61, a first grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School, was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography after investigators found hundreds of printed images of child pornography in his home that he actually admitted to downloading. Kothe lives in Alhambra.

Kothe was arrested on the same day as David Hassler, 62, a religious studies teacher at Mayfield Senior School School of the Holy Child Jesus in Pasadena, California. In a search of his home, they also found numerous printed images of child pornography, downloaded from the Internet. TT entry for Hassler.

GUILTY PLEA - April 22 - Kothe pleaded guilty Monday to one felony count of possession of child pornography. He will be sentenced July 14. Kothe will be required to register on national and state databases as a convicted sex offender. He has been on unpaid leave from his job since the investigation began, but once he is sentenced the district plans to fire him.

Investigators targeted Kothe after they found that he had subscribed to websites that allow users to download child pornography. His computer hard drive contained 113 images and 18 movies of child pornography, some with children as young as 7. He will be sentenced July 14.

Other San Gabriel Valley teachers in the news at Hassler entry.

SENTENCED July 14 - Kothe was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in federal prison Monday for possessing child pornography. He will serve ten years of supervised release following his prison term. (No parole for federal sentencing.) He will have register with law enforcement as a sex offender for the rest of his life. (TT - Sadly, the children in those pictures and videos are also sentenced for the rest of their lives. Their images will be traded like baseball cards by perverts across the globe.)

During an interview with agents, Kothe admitted to downloading and printing the images and paying for child pornography, which was "entertainment to him, like a video game," court papers state. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Dugdale said after Monday's hearing that one of the images Kothe possessed showed an infant being raped.

Child Pornography and Educators
TT - List sentenced for child pornography.
TT - List guilty but not yet sentenced for child pornography.