Former Miss Porter's School Teacher Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Charge

A former Miss Porter’s School teacher pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of receipt of child pornography that stems from a reported sexual relationship with a student.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Joseph Rajkumar, 44, formerly of Farmington was previously a science teacher and advisor to the Science Olympiad team at the school, said Tom Carson, spokesman for the United States Attorney District of Connecticut office.

Rajkumar previously pleaded guilty in state court to second-degree sexual assault and was sentenced to 10 years of prison, suspended after 18 months along with 10 years of probation. He is in state custody.

In April of 2011 Rajkumar befriended a minor female victim at the school and pressured her to create an anonymous email account that did not contain her name. He created a similar one in violation of school policy that said students and teachers should only communicate through the school-sponsored website.

The two engaged in video chats over summer break and Rajkumar allegedly made multiple attempts to get the victim to remove her shirt. She resisted at first but eventually sucumbed to his pressured advances, Carson said.

The two then began a sexual relationship in November 2011 that allegedly lasted several months.

Further investigation by authorities revealed that Rajkumar had begun to harass other young girls in the school in person and through text messages, Carson said in a release.

In total Rajkumar corresponded with at least six victims and allegedly asked one other victim to engage in a sexual relationship.

Rajkumar is scheduled to be sentenced in February and he faces a minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of 20 years.