Shrewsbury High School mentor arrested for alleged possession of child porn

A Shrewsbury resident and volunteer mentor for the Shrewsbury High School Robotics Team since 2013 faces arrest on charges related to child pornography.

60-year-old Brian Lingard has been charged with possessing and transporting child pornography. He was taken into custody on the morning of Monday, October 30, 2023, and scheduled to appear later the same day in federal court in Worcester before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy.

According to the complaint affidavit, it’s alleged that on October 19, 2023, Lingard flew from Paris to Boston. During a customs screening, he was reportedly found to have explicit material involving minors on his phone. A subsequent search at Lingard’s residence revealed more concerning materials.

Data extracted from the Security Digital (SD) card of Lingard’s phone allegedly contained disturbing images, some involving minors who appear to be under 10 years old, with at least two of them identified as victims by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

It is claimed that the SD card held numerous pictures of clothed underage females within a school environment. These images appear to have been captured discreetly, with a particular focus on the minors’ buttocks. An examination of the metadata linked to these photos supposedly indicates that some were taken at Shrewsbury High School.

According to Shrewsbury Public Schools Superintendent Joe Sawyer in a statement, the school administrators “are not aware of any concerns raised related to Mr. Lingard’s volunteer role with the Shrewsbury High School Robotics team during his time as a mentor.”

Sawyer also stated that Lingard had successfully completed and cleared all mandatory CORI and SAFIS criminal background checks for volunteers, which included an obligatory updated CORI check in August.

The charge of transporting child pornography could lead to a sentence of at least five years and up to 20 years in prison, along with supervised release and a substantial fine. The charge of possession of child pornography may result in up to 20 years in prison, supervised release, and a significant fine.