Former San Francisco Unified School District Teacher Charged With Possession Of Child Pornography

OAKLAND –Christian Lancaster appeared in court today and was arraigned on charges he possessed child pornography, announced United States Attorney Brian Stretch and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin.  The appearance follows an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury on July 14, 2016, and unsealed earlier today.

According to the indictment, Lancaster is alleged to have knowingly possessed or knowingly accessed with intent to view one or more images of prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  Until January 2016, Lancaster was a teacher with the San Francisco Unified School District.

Lancaster voluntarily surrendered and was arraigned on the indictment today.  Lancaster was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending a bail hearing.  The defendant’s next scheduled appearance is at Wednesday, July 27, 2016, before the Honorable Donna M. Ryu for a hearing on bail.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted of Possession of Child Pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4), the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years, a fine of $250,000, plus restitution if appropriate.  However, any sentence following conviction will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

AUSAs Denise Marie Barton is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Trina Khadoo.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the United States Department of Homeland Security. 

If members of the public have any information relevant to this investigation or to suspected child predators or suspicious activity, HSI encourages them to contact HSI through the toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form at https://www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form.  Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.  Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may also be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.