West Irondequoit school counselor arraigned on child porn charges

IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. (WHEC) — A counselor in the West Irondequoit School District has been arraigned on child pornography charges, prosecutors announced Friday.

The Monroe County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Scott Steinberg was arrested by Greece Police Friday morning and appeared in Greece Town Court to face charges including promoting a sexual performance by a child, possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child, and two counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child.

The charges stem from an investigation and search warrant executed by GPD and the FBI, when police say multiple images and videos of child pornography were found on his cell phone, on slides at his home in Greece as well as videos that he downloaded.

Investigators say Steinberg was caught when he unknowingly shared child porn with an undercover FBI agent online, as well as a video on a peer-to-peer file-sharing system that involved multiple boys approximately 11 years old.

In a statement to parents and the media Friday, the West Irondequoit School District says it immediately placed Steinberg on administrative leave after it learned about the search warrant. Based on the findings, the district does not believe Steinberg involved local children in his alleged actions.

"Please know that there is no higher priority for us than the safety of our students," the statement read.

Administrators are directly contacting all families who were a part of Mr. Steinberg’s caseload. Additionally, the district says it will continue to cooperate with law enforcement and has called on support through the Bivona Child Advocacy Center.

Support services are being made available to students, families, and staff through Bivona.

The center’s executive director, Deb Rosen, spoke to News10NBC’s Jennifer Mobilia Friday.

"It is very, very discouraging to hear this sort of constant drumbeat, high profile, sexual abuse and exploitation cases," Rosen said.

She says this is a good reminder for parents to continue to ask questions and get to know the adults who are interacting with their children at school.

"When we have an incident that happens in a school community or in a family for that matter, there is a very deep sense of betrayal of trust," Rosen said. "And that’s because it is trust itself that has been taken advantage of."

The DA’s office says Steinberg was also a camp counselor at the YMCA’s Camp Northpoint. The case is now in the hands of the DA’s Special Victims Unit. Steinberg is due back in court on Nov. 3 at 4 p.m. for a preliminary hearing.

Anyone with information specific to the investigation or concerns should call Bivona at (585) 935-7800. To report abuse, call the NYS Abuse Hotline at (800) 342-3720.

This is a developing story, stay with News10NBC for the latest.

The full statement can be read below.

WICSDNewsRelease_102921 by News10NBC on Scribd

The YMCA of Greater Rochester released a statement saying:

"At the YMCA of Greater Rochester, the safety, security and well-being of children in our care is our No. 1 priority. The YMCA takes very seriously its obligation to protect every child served by the Association.

"All employees of the YMCA are subject to detailed background checks prior to hire. This individual, who has not worked for us since 2019, passed all background checks.

"According to reports, “based on findings to date, Mr. Steinberg’s actions are not suspected to involve children locally.” The YMCA has not been contacted by authorities but will cooperate fully if called upon to do so."