Former Fifth-Grade Teacher at San Gabriel Valley School Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

RIVERSIDE, California – A former elementary school teacher who worked at a school district in the San Gabriel Valley was sentenced today to 48 months in federal prison for possessing more than 400 videos containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Steven Pilar, 47, of Las Vegas, was sentenced by United States District Judge Sunshine S. Sykes, who also ordered him to pay $115,000 in restitution.

Pilar pleaded guilty in December 2024 to one count of possession of child pornography. He has been in federal custody since August 2024.

In February and April of 2020, Pilar used his computer and a peer-to-peer file-sharing program called BitTorrent to download videos and images containing CSAM via the internet. Specifically, Pilar – at his then-home in Victorville – knowingly received and downloaded approximately 444 videos containing CSAM, and knowingly possessed the videos for a time before deleting them. 

At the time of download and possession, Pilar knew these videos and images contained visual depictions of actual children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. 

Many of the videos and images that Pilar knowingly downloaded involved a pre-pubescent minor and a minor who had not attained 12 years of age, sadistic and masochistic conduct, and sexual abuse and exploitation of an infant and toddler.

Pilar was employed as a fifth-grade teacher working in the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District at the time of the offense. He no longer works at the school.

In April 2020, Pilar was arrested on state charges, which were later dropped so a federal case could be pursued.

“His actions caused direct and significant harm to the victims in this case, and his offense is aggravated by fact that he was teaching young children at the time,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “In fact, when [Pilar] downloaded and viewed the CSAM, he took part of a perpetual re-victimization of the victims.”

The FBI and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Joshua J. Lee of the General Crimes Section prosecuted this case.