Former Middle School Teacher Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Prison for Attempting to Purchase Live Video Sex Shows Involving Filipino Children

BOSTON – A former Southbridge Middle School teacher was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Worcester in connection with attempting to purchase live video sex shows involving Filipino children and to possessing child pornography.

Scott Peeler, 54, who previously resided in Worcester, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 138 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release. In November 2016, he pleaded guilty to three counts of attempting to entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual conduct and one count of possession of child pornography. Peeler has been in custody since his arrest in June 2015.

Between April 2013 and July 2014, Peeler used internet-based instant messaging with video streaming capabilities to communicate with individuals in the Philippines engaged in child sex trafficking and the sale of live streaming sex shows involving children. Peeler admitted to attempting on at least three occasions to arrange the purchase of live video sex shows involving children who ranged in age from four to fourteen years old.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr.; Colonel Richard D. McKeon, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Worcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady of Weinreb’s Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.

This 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 better 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/.