Suspended teacher charged with child pornography awaiting trial on home confinement
Jul. 19—A suspended Valley View School District physical education teacher accused of possessing child pornography is on home confinement after an in-patient stay earlier this year at a residential center that treats sex addiction, according to court documents filed in the case.
Jaime Chorba, 45, of Archbald, is awaiting a trial date in Lackawanna County Court, District Attorney Mark Powell said. He faces nearly 200 counts of child pornography and disseminating photographs of child sex acts, as well as counts of open lewdness, indecent exposure, criminal use of a communication facility and invasion of privacy. Powell declined to comment further because it is an ongoing case.
First Assistant Public Defender Joseph Kalinowski, who is representing Chorba, said the case is progressing through the pretrial discovery stage but declined to comment further.
Lackawanna County detectives first charged Chorba in December after a series of cybertips led to the discovery of child pornography on his electronic devices, according to a criminal complaint.
Authorities also discovered images of his genitals exposed on district property, a Playboy magazine with photos of high school girls taped inside, a flash drive with photos focused on the buttocks of a female high school student, and photos of a student edited to include himself engaged in sexual acts with her, according to investigators. He faced new charges in January.
Shortly after waiving his right to a preliminary hearing Feb. 1, he was released from Lackawanna County Prison on unsecured bail so he could attend in-patient treatment at KeyStone Center Extended Care Unit in Chester, which describes itself as treating sexually compulsive behavior, according to court filings.
Chorba was placed on home confinement after successfully completing treatment and regularly attends counseling sessions for sex addiction, Kalinowski argued in court filings. He resides with his mother in Eynon.
Chorba is on administrative suspension without pay pending a disciplinary process, said Valley View Superintendent Michael Boccella, Ed.D.
"We're actively moving forward," he said.
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