Ex-Philly charter school teacher, 31, charged with sexually exploiting 12-year-old student
Christopher D. O’Sullivan — who until this summer had taught at Belmont Charter Middle School on the 4000 block of Brown Street — held himself out as a mentor equally comfortable talking video games and camping in conversations with the boy.
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A former West Philadelphia charter school teacher faces federal charges after using gift cards and encouraging text messages to entice a 12-year-old student to send him a photo of his genitals, authorities said Friday.
Christopher D. O’Sullivan — who until this summer had taught at Belmont Charter Middle School on the 4000 block of Brown Street — held himself out as a mentor comfortable talking about video games and camping in conversations with the boy. Meanwhile, he allegedly harangued his target for illicit photos, in-person sexual encounters, and details about his experiences with masturbation.
When FBI agents searched the teacher’s Kingsessing apartment in August, they found sexually charged images of the child and at least 100 other young boys on his phone and laptop, court documents say.
The school fired O’Sullivan, 31, in July, banned him from campus, and alerted students and teachers after the boy’s parents discovered dozens of inappropriate text message exchanges between him and their son.
A federal grand jury indicted the former teacher Thursday on charges of enticement of a minor and manufacturing child pornography, which carry a mandatory minimum 15-year sentence if he is convicted.
Court filings paint O’Sullivan as a cautious manipulator, constantly coaxing the student into more extreme behavior — and at times offering him gift cards.
“I just wanna make sure it’s something you actually WANT to do,” he told the 12-year-old in one July text message exchange quoted in court filings in which O’Sullivan sought a “sexy video.”
Whenever the boy pushed back, the documents state, the former teacher laid on the pressure. He told the child in a later text conversation: “I wanna see if you’re all talk or actually a man of your word this time.”
Additionally, investigators say they discovered several explicit images of naked infants and teenage boys that appear to have been taken during a trip O’Sullivan took to South Africa in 2013.
The former teacher has remained in federal custody without bail since his arrest in August in Plattsburgh, N.Y. His lawyer, Michael Harris Fienman, said his client maintains his innocence and intends to plead not guilty at a hearing next week.
“Belmont Charter School’s highest priority is the safety and well-being of our students,” said Kirk Dorn, a spokesperson for the school. “We have and will continue to fully cooperate with the FBI, Philadelphia police, and Child Protective Services on this very sad situation.”