Shrewsbury High School robotics team mentor arrested on child pornography charges
SHREWSBURY – Brian Lingard, a mentor of the robotics team at Shrewsbury High School, was arrested Monday for allegedly having child pornography.
Lingard, 60, was initially searched at customs as he tried to re-enter the country at Logan Airport from Paris on October 19.
Police performed a subsequent screening of his phone where they allegedly found child pornography.
It is alleged he had around 23 images of minors under 10 years old on his phone's SD card. Two of those photos include children who have been identified as child sexual abuse victims by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The card also allegedly contained images of fully clothed female minors that were taken at Shrewsbury High School, according to GPS metadata.
"The images appear to have been taken surreptitiously and are focused on the buttocks of the females," Shrewsbury Superintendent of Schools Joe Sawyer said in a statement.
Lingard's lawyer, Ken Barrett, argues most of the school images came off Instagram and were not taken by the suspect. "He's never been in trouble before," Barrett said outside court Monday. "He's been in the area for approximately 30 years, never been arrested before, not so much of a speeding ticket so it's all kind of new to him and kind of a shock to his family."
Sawyer said Lingard has volunteered with the robotics team since 2013. The district said Lingard has undergone and passed all criminal background checks that volunteers are required to undergo.
According to court documents, the date of the photos ranges from 2018-2023.
After a search of Lingard's computer, investigators said they found that he also had around 135 videos of child pornography.
Lingard is charged with transportation of and possession of child pornography.
He is expected to appear in federal court on Monday afternoon.