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Attorney for Seneca Valley teacher says evidence will clear child porn charges

Jonathan Brecht (right) with his lawyer, David Shrager (left)

BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. — A Seneca Valley Middle School teacher facing child pornography charges faced a judge Tuesday.

Jonathan Brecht was arrested two weeks ago on charges of child pornography possession. Authorities said he’s been under investigation for child pornography and attempting to have sex with a 16-year-old since July.

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Brecht waived his preliminary hearing Tuesday afternoon, meaning he’ll be arraigned in Common Pleas Court in April.

After his hearing, Brecht's attorney, David Shrager, told Channel 11 News that there’s evidence that he believes will clear his client of any wrongdoing.

"We're waiting for a full forensic review of the computer. It's my belief that this will exonerate my client. We need that before we can proceed with the defense, and we believe this will be excellent for us,” Shrager said.

In the criminal complaint obtained by Channel 11 News, investigators said they found three images of child porn on Brecht's hard drive, leading to the filing of charges.

"Certainly we don't dispute that there are photos, but the question is what are the photos? We believe they are not contraband or illegal,” Shrager said.

Brecht, a math teacher at Seneca Valley Middle School, wasn’t removed from the classroom until he was charged two weeks ago even though he was under investigation since last summer.

According to the criminal complaint, Brecht told investigators that he worked at Target but never said anything about being a teacher.

"My client does work at Target and he acknowledged that. He was employed with Target at the time of the incident, and he was truthful about that,” Shrager said.

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