http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2012/02/more_child_pornography_charges.html
A former Bethlehem Area School District janitor and his partner face
new federal charges of distributing child pornography in Virginia,
according to court documents.
According to court documents:
Matthew Ackerman, 49, and Thomas Syfor, 71, both of the 400 block of
Carlton Avenue in Bethlehem, were charged federally in November with
possessing hundreds of images of child pornography, trading child
pornography, soliciting images from a magazine advertisement, and
printing pictures for their personal use, according to the FBI. Those
charges were filed in eastern Pennsylvania.
A federal indictment was filed in January and unsealed Thursday based
on similar allegations in western Virginia, where both are charged
with distributing child pornography.
Neither Ackerman’s attorney, Ben Cooper, nor Syfor’s attorney, Michael
E Brunnabend, returned a phone call seeking comment.
Court records revealed Ackerman and Syfor had a video camera set up on
a tripod pointed out their window to a neighborhood bus stop. Ackerman
told authorities he spied on boys in a school locker room.
Bethlehem Area School District Superintendent Joseph Roy previously
confirmed Ackerman was a custodian from October 2007 to May 2010 at
district schools. But Roy said Ackerman had no prior criminal record
when he was hired, was never the subject of a complaint and was
terminated for poor performance.
Roy said Ackerman worked a 2 to 10 p.m. shift at Broughal and
Nitschmann middle schools.
Roy said Thursday the district is still cooperating with federal
authorities in an ongoing investigation.
Ackerman and Syfor are in a relationship and lived together, according
to court papers. They remain in federal prison.
Seven other men were charged in Virginia, including Jesse Leon
Coleman, 47, of Lynchburg, Va.; Peter Franklin Ortiz, 56, of
Greenville, S.C.; Manuel Antonio Mares, 56, of Miami; Jeremy Hart
Yost, 25, of West Bend, Ore.; Richard Phillip Allen, 65, of Redondo
Beach, Calif.; and James Calvin Boyd, 58, of Pell City, Ala.
The seventh man charged, known as Andy Danilov, is believed to reside
in Russia.
Each defendant in the Virginia case faces a maximum penalty of 20
years in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervised release.