NYC first-grade teacher charged after family records confession about child pornography, feds say
Queens educator, previously at a Manhattan school, faces two federal counts for allegedly possessing and distributing hundreds of images; arraigned and held ahead of Oct. 2 court date
Federal prosecutors say Christopher Ward, 37, stockpiled a sickening trove of child pornography and used a messaging app to share hundreds of images and videos for at least a year while teaching first-graders in New York City. Ward was arrested after relatives taped him admitting to receiving and distributing the material and turning the recording over to investigators, according to a criminal complaint.
Authorities said the relatives conducted the sting independently and Ward handed a phone to the relative, who turned it over to law enforcement. Ward deleted a messaging app from his phone in what prosecutors described as an apparent bid to hide the conduct.
Ward taught at a Queens elementary school from September of last year until this month, and previously worked at a Manhattan school from January 2021 through June 2024, prosecutors said. Ward lives with his parents in Farmingdale after leaving the home he shared with his spouse, his defense lawyer told a court, according to Inner City Press.
He was arraigned in federal court and entered a not guilty plea. He is charged with one count of receiving and distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography, including images of prepubescent minors and minors younger than 12. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He is being held pending his next court date, set for Oct. 2.
The Department of Education did not immediately comment on Ward’s arrest. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the allegations are sickening and illegal, and there is zero tolerance for those who exploit children. "These allegations are as sickening as they are illegal, and there is absolutely zero tolerance for anyone who exploits our most innocent in this way."
Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton said: "Every day, Christopher Ward stood at the front of a classroom of first graders while allegedly storing hundreds of images exploiting children just like them."
