Chesco first-grade teacher arrested on child porn charges

A first grade teacher at the West Chester Area School District has been arrested for possession of child pornography, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday morning.

David C. Devine, 34, of Media, was taken into custody by detectives on Wednesday night.

According to officials, Devine is also director of Camp Flying Hawk, a day camp he operates from his house.

More than 500 pornographic images and videos of elementary school-aged children were found on a computer owned by Devine, according to court documents.

He is charged with possession of child pornography, a felony.

District Attorney G. Michael Green said there was no evidence that Devine took any of the images. Green said it appeared Devine downloaded the images off the Internet.

Rob Patridge, a spokesman for the West Chester Area School District, said Devine was hired in December 2008 to teach first grade at Penn Wood Elementary School after passing three background checks, two by the state and one by the FBI.

Partridge said that the district has a "no tolerance" policy for this kind of alleged activity and that Devine has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.