Ex-liaison for quasi-governmental agency imprisoned over child porn

Alex Wood, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·3 min read

Mar. 26—A Glastonbury man who formerly worked for a quasi-governmental agency that helps Connecticut nonprofit organizations raise funds at low interest rates pleaded guilty to a reduced child pornography charge Wednesday and received a one-year prison sentence.

The man, David Michael Wasch, who is in his early 50s and has lived on Weir Street, had originally been charged with evidence tampering and first-degree child pornography possession, which carries five to 20 years in prison.

In the plea bargain, he was allowed to plead guilty to third-degree child pornography possession. The one-year prison sentence he received is the mandatory minimum for that crime, meaning that Wasch will have to spend the entire year in state Department of Correction custody. He was free on $25,000 bond until he was sentenced.

CHILD PORN DEAL

DEFENDANT: David Michael Wasch, who is in his early 50s and has lived on Weir Street in Glastonbury

GUILTY PLEA: Third-degree child pornography possession

SENTENCE: Five years, suspended after one year in prison, followed by 10 years' probation

RESIGNED: Job as legislative liaison for the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority

After he is released from prison, Wasch will be on probation for 10 years, facing up to four more years behind bars if he violates release conditions that include registering as a sex offender and getting any treatment considered necessary by the probation office.

When he was arrested on Nov. 26, 2019, Wasch was legislative liaison for the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority.

Jeanette W. Weldon, CHEFA executive director, wrote in an email Thursday to the Journal Inquirer that Wasch resigned from the job effective Dec. 25, 2019. She said he had been on paid administrative leave from Dec. 3 to Dec. 15, 2019, and was on unpaid administrative leave from Dec. 16, 2019, until he resigned the following week.

Wasch and his wife shared a laptop computer but had separate "user profiles," prosecutor Robert Diaz said, according to an audio recording of Thursday's hearing. She saw on Wasch's profile numerous images of child pornography, the prosecutor added.

Wasch's wife confronted him about her discovery on Aug. 28, 2019, and told him she might contact police, according to an affidavit by Glastonbury police Officer Steven Moyer.

That same day, the officer reported, what he described as "an anti-forensic wiping tool" was downloaded to the laptop from the internet. The tool was run four times by 4:18 p.m. the next day, Moyer added.

The use of the tool led to the evidence tampering charge against Wasch. But it also resulted in material being eliminated from the computer and a number of partial photographs being recovered. That would have complicated prosecution of the case if there had been a trial, Diaz said.

Moyer contacted the investigative arm of the federal Homeland Security Department to ask for help with information on about 50 files that were either partially recovered from the computer or had file names implying that they contained child pornography.

Homeland Security reported that 24 photos and 12 videos were child pornography, although two files were duplicates, according to the officer. There had been partial recovery of 24 photos and eight videos, while four videos weren't recovered at all but were identified on the basis of file names on the laptop computer, he added.

Defense lawyer Cody N. Guarnieri had Wasch evaluated by Dennis Gibeau, a clinical psychologist who has "worked almost exclusively in the assessment and treatment of sex offenders since 1984," according to his LinkedIn page. Gibeau found Wasch to be a low risk to offend again, Diaz said.

The prosecutor also said Wasch has no prior criminal record.

The plea bargain Wasch accepted is one commonly offered to first-time child pornography offenders in Connecticut courts.

For updates on Glastonbury, and recent crime and courts coverage in North-Central Connecticut, follow Alex Wood on Twitter: @AlexWoodJI1, Facebook: Alex Wood, and Instagram: @AlexWoodJI.

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