BOSTON – A former employee of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to possession of child pornography.
David St. George, 75, of Arlington, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Aug. 16, 2022. St. George was arrested and charged in September 2018.
In May 2018, investigators received information regarding a shared secure online storage account containing child pornography. The IP address for this account ultimately was linked to St. George’s internet. The storage account contained over 5,000 files, including sexually explicit images and videos of children, many of which depicted child sexual abuse – including the depiction of an adult raping an infant of approximately one year of age.
In September 2018, a search of St. George’s residence revealed thousands of files of child pornography, including the depiction of sexual assaults of children between six-and-eight years old. Emails revealed that St. George continued to re-post child sexual abuse materials despite being repeatedly banned by an online service provider. During the search, St. George admitted that he had been receiving and downloading child pornography from the Dark Web while taking steps to conceal his identity, as well as receiving and downloading child pornography via email for upload to his shared secure storage account.
St. George faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Members of the public who have questions, concerns, or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Arlington Police Department.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.