An elementary school employee was “immediately” fired after he was arrested for allegedly asking minors for sexually explicit content over Snapchat and the live-streaming platform Twitch, according to law enforcement and school officials.
Charles Lucas Dingman, 29, who worked part-time at Holland Elementary School in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, has been arrested on child pornography charges, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office announced in a Thursday, January 29, news release.
Dingman, of Yardley, was an instructional assistant at the school, which is a part of the Council Rock School District, according to the office. He has also worked as a substitute teacher and coached soccer at other school districts in Bucks County.
Information on Dingman’s legal representation was not immediately available.
Detectives began investigating Dingman on January 16, following three concerning cybertips from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, prosecutors said.
The tips involved accusations Dingman had solicited sexually explicit content from underage individuals online.
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Dingman is accused of posing as a 13-year-old on Snapchat, which he used to message minors and encourage them “to send explicit images,” the district attorney’s office said.
Additionally, while using the streaming platform Twitch, Dingman told a girl to “perform suggestive acts” during a livestream, according to prosecutors.
Investigators found evidence that the alleged digital activity was tied to Dingman’s home, the district attorney’s office said.
When officers arrested him on January 29, according to a criminal complaint, Dingman “admitted that child sexual abuse material would be found on his cellular device.”
In a letter written that same day, Council Rock School District Superintendent Dr. Andrew J. Sanko informed school district families of Dingman’s arrest.
“The employee was immediately terminated, and we are fully cooperating with the investigation, which is being handled by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and local law enforcement,” Sanko wrote in the letter, which was provided to Us Weekly on Friday, January 30.
Dingman had worked at Holland Elementary for about three months before his arrest, school district staff confirmed to the district attorney’s office.
The office said that no “local students or Holland Elementary students” were connected to the child sexual abuse material that Dingman was found to have.
Dingman appeared in court for an arraignment the morning of his arrest, according to prosecutors. He is facing charges of knowingly photographing or filming a child sex act, possession of child pornography, unlawful contact with a minor, and criminal use of a communication facility.
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After a judge set his bail at $250,000, Dingman bonded out hours later on January 29, the district attorney’s office said.
Law enforcement is continuing to investigate him.
“There is no doubt that this information is deeply troubling for parents, staff, and the broader community,” Sanko wrote in the letter sent to the school community. “Crimes involving children are intolerable. Council Rock School District has zero tolerance for any form of child abuse, exploitation, or conduct that threatens the safety of students.”
The district attorney’s office encourages anyone with information relevant to the investigation to contact Bucks County Detective Eric Landamia at (215) 348-6354.
