VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — For the second time, a Virginia Beach judge denied a bond for a city school employee accused of having and sharing child pornography.
David Crouse, Jr., 56, faces several criminal counts and is on unpaid leave from his job at Arrowhead Elementary School.
A spokesperson for Virginia Beach City Public Schools confirmed Crouse works as an IT specialist at the school, and he's worked for the division since 2009.
On Thursday, Crouse's relatives, friends and neighbors stood behind him and his attorney in a show of support, as a judge read letters advocating for the 56-year-old man's release from jail.
But a judge in Virginia Beach Circuit Court rejected that request, based on what prosecutors shared in the courtroom.
In court, an attorney for the commonwealth said investigators linked Crouse’s laptop to over 10,000 files of child pornography in the course of a three-year investigation, and they’ve found more since executing a search warrant last week.
Some of the files include a video of men molesting young girls, and images of sexual acts involving boys, according to prosecutors.
Virginia Beach detectives became aware of child pornography coming from an IP address in 2019 and launched an investigation, according to the Virginia Beach Police Department. However, at the time, investigations did not link the crime to a specific person.
Prosecutors said Crouse last accessed the images on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
Virginia Beach police officers arrested Crouse on Dec. 7 at Arrowhead Elementary and charged him with five counts of child pornography and five counts of distribution of child pornography.
When asked, prosecutors said Crouse admitted the files came from his laptop.
In court Thursday, an attorney for the commonwealth said they found Crouse alone in a closed room with a 7-year-old child when they went to question him.
The judge referenced that claim by prosecutors as a reason for not granting Crouse's bond.
Crouse's attorney, Diane Toscano, filed an appeal after a separate judge denied bond last week. The judge cited her belief that Crouse is a potential threat to the community.
Toscano has previously called the charges against her client “allegations.”
She said he has no criminal or violent history, and that he and his wife lived alone. They have two adult children.
In a statement to 13News Now, she called the bond ruling "disappointing."
"We are disappointed in the ruling," she wrote. "As evidenced by the strong showing of support in court today, Mr. Crouse is a solid member of our community."