Teacher Sentenced in Computer Porn Case

Apologizing to his former pupils, a Redlands schoolteacher was sentenced Monday to 27 months in federal prison for possessing more than 1,300 images of child pornography on his home computer.

Philip George Dupuis, 49, was also ordered to undergo treatment for alcoholism during a three-year probationary period after his release.

Dupuis, who taught music in the Redlands school system for 18 years, told U.S. District Judge Manuel Real that he had apologized privately to his family, friends and colleagues.

He said he also wanted to express his regrets publicly to his students “who I’m sure are greatly confused and disappointed in my behavior.”

Dupuis pleaded guilty earlier this year to possession of the images of boys engaged in sexual acts with adults. Some showed naked boys bound and gagged. Most of the pictures were on his computer’s hard drive or on diskettes.

Under federal law, possession of child pornography, even when it is simply downloaded on a personal computer, is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Dupuis’ lawyer, Joseph T. Gibbons Jr., said there was no evidence that Dupuis had made any sexual overtures toward his students.

In his brief remarks to the judge before sentencing, Dupuis said alcoholism contributed to his use of child pornography. He said he looked forward to entering an alcohol treatment program.

He was arrested on Dec. 23 after a young man he hired to help him move from one apartment to another found some pornographic pictures in a suitcase. The youth called his uncle, a retired police dispatcher, who notified authorities.

Police arrived at the apartment about the same time as Dupuis. He gave them permission to search his residence and was later arrested.

Dupuis, who has been in custody since his arrest, has resigned from his teaching post. He also had been an officer in the local teachers union.

During his probation, he will be barred from working with children or having access to the Internet, from which he downloaded the child pornography.