Band leader at Timberview Middle accused of sending child porn

A band teacher from Timberview Middle School in Briargate was arrested Wednesday on allegations that he collected - and may have distributed - pornographic images of prepubescent girls, Colorado Springs police said Thursday.

Jaime Bush Schneider, 42, of Colorado Springs, was booked into the El Paso County jail on suspicion of sexual exploitation of children, a Class 4 felony.

He was released Wednesday night after posting a $3,000 bond, jail officials said.

The Colorado Springs police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force began investigating April 2 after receiving a tip.
Police detectives searched Schneider's home and found "evidence consistent with the distribution of sexually exploitative images of children" stored on Schneider's home computer, police Lt. David Whitlock said.

According to an arrest affidavit, investigators found "more than 20 images" of prepubescent girls engaged in sex or posed in sexually explicit positions exposing their breasts and genitals.

There is no evidence the computer contained images or video of children from Colorado Springs.

Schneider has been employed at Timberview since 2001, with no problems on record, said Nanette Anderson, a spokeswoman for Academy District 20. The school district conducts nationwide criminal background checks, and a pre-employment investigation turned up no signs for concern, she said.

Schneider will remain on administrative leave until the allegations are resolved in the court system, Anderson said. She would not say whether he was on paid or unpaid leave, citing privacy laws.

He also was a tennis coach at Liberty High, and his wife works as a language arts teacher at Timberview.

About 250 people - mostly parents of children in the band program - attended a 15-minute briefing at Timberview Thursday afternoon where school officials announced they learned of the arrest the night it happened.

Students were told after class Thursday that Schneider had been suspended while police investigate improprieties on the Internet, but administrators did not go into detail.

"We explained that we have to go through this process to ensure safety for all the students," said Principal Brett Smith said.

Scott Singmaster, another band teacher, will handle all scheduled band events, and substitute teachers will handle classroom duties.

A second man, Michael Lee Eichsteadt, 37, was arrested Monday in an unrelated case also involving child pornography.

Police say they found hundreds of videos and pictures of "sexually exploitative content" during a search of the self-employed carpenter's computer in his Colorado Springs home. They began investigating when his estranged wife approached police in September of 2008 and reported they could find child pornography on his computer.

None of the images involved local children, police said.

Eichsteadt was booked into El Paso County jail on suspicion of sexual exploitation of children.
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Call Benzel at 636-0366  

Sue McMillin of The Gazette contributed to this story.