Former teacher avoids jail for possession of child porn

A former Indiana County high school teacher who pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography this fall avoided a jail term Monday.

Charles Kirkland, 33, of Derry Township was ordered to serve 14 years on probation even as a Westmoreland County prosecutor argued that he should spend at least three months behind bars. He was arrested in late 2022 after a state police investigation revealed he downloaded as many as nine pornographic images of children on his home computer.

Kirkland worked as a business teacher at Homer City High School from 2016 until he resigned following his arrest. He pleaded guilty in September to two felony counts of child pornography. Two additional felony charges — dissemination of images of child sex acts and criminal use of a computer — were dismissed.

According to Pennsylvania Department of Education records, Kirkland’s teaching certification is no longer valid. He now works as an office manager for a property title research company in Indiana County.

He told the judge at his sentencing hearing Monday that he has been in sex offender’s treatment since his arrest.

“I know I have hurt people for my actions. I take full responsibility. The last two years I’ve made a commitment to positive change,” Kirkland said.

Assistant District Attorney Cassidy Hatten said standard sentencing guidelines called for Kirkland to serve three to 12 months in jail.

“The community was quite shocked. He was employed as a school teacher when these crimes took place. For the sake of the community, you do have to pay back that community, so jail time is appropriate here,” Hatten said.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani disagreed and said that because of the treatment Kirkland has undergone, along with his lack of a prior criminal record, a jail sentence was not warranted. He imposed two consecutive seven-year probation sentences and ordered Kirkland to continue to undergo sex offender and mental health treatment and register as a convicted sex offender for the next 15 years.

The judge said he would cut in half Kirkland’s probation term if he has no violations during the first seven years of his sentence.

“I sentenced you to the mitigated range because of what you did after the violations occurred. If there are any violations, you will go to state prison,” Feliciani warned.