Article reposted from The Sentinel www.cumberlandlink.com
Author: Joshua Vaughn
A former athletic trainer at the Carlisle Area School District has been charged with possession and distribution of child pornography.
Benjamin Stahle, 26, of York, was charged with 25 counts possession of child pornography, six counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of criminal solicitation for the criminal use of a communications facility on July 28, according to court records. All of the charges are third-degree felonies.
Agents from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office caught Stahle through his use of file sharing programs to download and share the illicit materials, the agency stated.
Stahle had served as a contracted athletic trainer at Carlisle High School from fall 2014 through February 2016 when he took a new job in York County, according to Superintendent John Friend.
Friend said Stahle was an employee of Select Medical, with whom the district contracts, and that the district has no reason to believe there was any illegal behavior involving Stahle and Carlisle school district students.
When the district was alerted to Stahle’s charges, Friend said the district’s solicitor contacted the state Attorney General’s Office.
“We have no reason to believe, from the criminal complaint and from that phone call, that there was any problem with any students in the district,” Friend said.
He explained that all employees are subject to a background check prior to working in the district.
According to court records, this is Stahle’s first criminal offense in Pennsylvania.
Stahle was arrested on July 28 and taken to York County Prison. He was released the same day after posting $10,000 bail, according to court records.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 18 in front of Magisterial District Judge Barry Boss Jr.