ELMIRA, N.Y. (AP) – Federal authorities say a former teacher has been indicted on child pornography charges after computer thumb drives with hundreds of videos were recovered after he flushed them down the toilet at his upstate New York home.
Prosecutors say 39-year-old Howard Edward Brooks, of Elmira, was arrested in August 2015 after FBI agents obtained a warrant to search his home. Prosecutors say Brooks saw the agents in his driveway and flushed several thumb drives down the toilet.
The digital items were recovered from the sewer line under the home with the help of a local public works crew.
The former teacher at Elmira Christian Academy has been indicted on charges of receipt, attempted distribution and possession of child pornography involving prepubescent minors.