Los Angeles-area teacher who pleaded guilty to child exploitation offenses and admitted molestation sentenced to more than 23 years
LOS ANGELES — A former teacher and athletic coach at Royal Oak Middle School in Covina, who pleaded guilty to producing child pornography and using the Internet to entice a minor to engage in sex, was sentenced Monday to 23 1/2 years in federal prison.
John David Boyle, 52, of Glendora, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson. At Monday's hearing, Judge Wilson said Boyle's crimes were "horrendous" and that "the damage done to the victims is incalculable."
The charges are the result of a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC).
"We entrust teachers to serve as role models for our children and safeguard their welfare. As this sentence makes clear, when that trust is violated, there will be serious consequences," said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. "This case should also serve as a stern warning to those who mistakenly believe cyberspace affords them anonymity and they can use the Internet to sexually exploit children with impunity."
Boyle, who in addition to teaching was also an athletic coach, pleaded guilty in March to enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, admitting that he molested a 14-year-old boy whom he met online. Boyle also pleaded guilty to production of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.
Boyle "spent years collecting child pornography from the Internet, traded child pornography over email, participated in sexually explicit conversations in Internet chat rooms in which he enticed underage boys to engage in sexually explicit conduct, and personally molested multiple underage boys," prosecutors wrote in a sentencing brief filed with the court.
During the course of the investigation, Boyle engaged in online chats with an undercover agent, believing the undercover agent shared his sexual interest in young boys, according to court documents. Boyle set up an in-person meeting with the undercover agent in his classroom at the school on a Sunday, believing the purpose of the meeting was to engage in sexual activity while watching child pornography together.
After being confronted by authorities in June 2013, Boyle allowed them to access several of his online accounts. Investigators then discovered that Boyle had used one of his accounts to distribute child pornography. Following Boyle's arrest, further investigation by agents revealed that Boyle had abused at least one other underage victim in the late 1980s.
"Simply put, defendant is a sexual predator, who has avoided detection by law enforcement for many years and poses an extreme danger not just to the community, but also to the most vulnerable in it – namely, young children," prosecutors stated in their sentencing brief.
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