PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newseradio) — A former Montgomery County teacher has pleaded guilty to six counts of child exploitation offenses related to a pattern of travel to the Philippines to have sex with children.
Craig Levin, 66, of King of Prussia, traveled to the Philippines nine times over a nearly three-year period for illicit sexual contact with minors, some as young as 12 years old, according to U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero, in an announcement made on Wednesday.
Between August 2016 and May 2019, prior to and during his travels, the retired Lower Merion School District special education teacher, created and maintained Facebook accounts that he used to communicate with Filipino minors, according to court documents.
Related
Authorities say he used those social media accounts to send child pornography to Filipino minors and to persuade them to have sex with him during upcoming visits to the island nation.
Levin also stands accused of participating in commercial sex trafficking. Romero said he brokered a deal for an adult sex offender to have sex with a minor, who was pregnant at the time, in exchange for money.
This case is part of a U.S. Department of Justice initiative called Project Safe Childhood, which fights child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Levin was first charged with child exploitation offenses in February 2020. Later, in May 2021, the defendant was charged with a host of new counts related to illicit activity in the Philippines, including sex trafficking, offenses of sexual conduct and coercion, and child pornography offenses.