Ex-teacher sentenced in child porn distribution case
VIRGINIA BEACH — A former instructional technology specialist and teacher at Arrowhead Elementary School was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for multiple counts of possessing and distributing child pornography.
The term given to David Crouse Jr. by Circuit Judge Tanya Bullock was the mandatory minimum the 57-year-old could get under Virginia law.
Crouse was arrested at the school in December 2022. He was alone in a room with a student when police arrived, according to prosecutors, and admitted to the crimes during an interview with detectives. He pleaded guilty to the charges in October.
Thousands of explicit images of young children being sexually assaulted were found on Crouse’s computer after police searched his home, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Andrew Rice told the judge.
“He exploited thousands of children by downloading and sharing these images,” Rice said. “It’s abhorrent. And this defendant was in our schools.”
Crouse was hired by Virginia Beach public schools in 2009. His employment ended after his arrest. There’s no evidence he personally abused children, according to prosecutors, and he’s denied ever touching a child inappropriately.
Crouse’s wife, a family friend and a former colleague testified on his behalf. Several other family members and friends attended Tuesday’s hearing and wrote letters to the court. They described Crouse as a caring, professional and loving person, and said the crimes he committed were not in line with his character.
Crouse told Bullock he suffers from an addiction to pornography. He said he downloaded the images from a free website and didn’t realize he was sharing them with others when he did that.
Since being incarcerated, Crouse has started a jail ministry and Bible study, his wife said, and wants to help others like him.
Crouse apologized for his conduct Tuesday, and said he took full responsibility for his actions. But he also questioned whether “politics” played a role in how his case was handled by the Virginia Beach commonwealth’s attorney’s office, and the hefty sentence he faced as a result of the way the case was charged.
Bullock told Crouse she was “mind-boggled” by his claims of political interference.
“A lot of this is mind-boggling,” she said.