Former Public School Teacher, David A. Rinke II, 40, Sentenced to More Than 19 Years in Prison for Collecting Child Pornography

ERIE, PA—A former teacher, coach, and referee has been sentenced in federal court to 235 months in prison and 30 years’ supervised release on his conviction of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

U.S. District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin imposed the sentence on David A. Rinke II, 40, of Erie.

According to information presented to the court, over the last 15 years Rinke amassed a collection of more than 50,000 images and movies depicting the sexual assault and rape of children, some as young as infants. Rinke, a former chemistry teacher at Collegiate Academy in Erie, also possessed on his computer groin shots of youths at what appeared to be high school sporting events. Rinke was caught when he distributed child pornography to an undercover FBI agent in Phoenix.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge McLaughlin stated that Rinke was a predatory pedophile who represented a clear and present danger to the community.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

The FBI and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Rinke.

http://www.fbi.gov/pittsburgh/press-releases/2012/former-public-school-teacher-sentenced-to-more-than-19-years-in-prison-for-collecting-child-pornography



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A former Erie high school teacher will spend the next 19 years behind bars, on child pornography charges.
A judge Monday morning, sentenced David Rinke to 19 years, 7 months behind bars.
The former Collegiate Academy science teacher pled guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of children.
Prosecutors say the 39 year old collected tens of thousands of illegal images and videos, over a period of more than 10 years.
The FBI launched an investigation, after Rinke shared some of the pictures with an undercover agent online.
Because of the number of pictures police found on Rinke's computer, the sentencing guidelines call for a minimum of 17 and-a-half years in jail.

http://www.erietvnews.com/story/16922465/erie-collegiate-teacher-sentenced-on-porn-charges