Delco School Counselor Facing 17 Child Porn Charges

GARNET VALLEY, PA — A school counselor in Delaware County is facing felony child pornography charges.

Kevin Scott Siegel, 46, of Garney Valley, was charged with 17 counts each of child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility. Siegel was a counselor at Northley Middle School in the Penn-Delco School District.

According to court documents, the charges came after a Delaware County investigator was tipped off by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to a Yahoo user uploading four files containing material showing the sexual abuse of children.

Investigators confirmed the material showed child sex abuse and that the files were sent by Siegel to himself via his Yahoo email address.

Additionally, investigators worked with Verizon to track the IP address to Siegel's Garnet Valley home, as well as the Penn-Delco School District.

Search warrants were obtained for both Seigel's Yahoo account, home, and several devices, which resulted in additional files depicting child sex abuse being discovered, authorities said.

When speaking with investigators, Seigel said he experienced a "moment of weakness" and call his actions "stupid."

Seigel was asked why after spending more than two decades working with children he now had an interest in child sex abuse material, and authorities said he could not answer the question.

Penn-Delco School District Superintendent George Steinhoff said in a letter to the community that "none of the alleged criminal activity occurred on school premises or involved any current or former students."

"Law enforcement representatives reiterated that none of the crimes alleged to have been committed by Mr. Siegel took place on school grounds or involved any current or former Penn-Delco students," Steinhoff said.

He said the district was not given notice the charges being filed last week, and that officials learned of the charges secondhand.

"When the district was first informed of this matter, we were advised that no charges had been filed and the next steps in an investigation of this type is forensic verification," Steinhoff said in the letter. "There was no timetable provided to the district for when or if any charges were going to be filed. Mr. Siegel was immediately removed from the workplace, placed on leave, and has had no contact with students since the moment the district was first informed."

The district is now looking for a counselor to meet the needs of its students amid the case against Seigel.

Siegel is being held after failing to post $100,000 bail and is scheduled for a Dec. 5 preliminary hearing, court documents show.

“I want to thank Penn Delco School District Superintendent Dr. George Steinhoff and his staff for their full cooperation in the investigation that has led to Kevin Siegel’s arrest today," Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said in a statement. "It’s also important for the school community to know that although Mr. Siegel is an employee of the district, there is no evidence that he used school district devices to access child pornography or that any students have been harmed by his criminal behavior. In all cases like this however, we ask members of the public who may have information about any possible inappropriate interactions the defendant may have had with children, to please come forward to law enforcement."