ST. LOUIS – The former assistant principal of a Missouri middle school appeared in court this week to answer a child pornography charge.

Daniel Ott, 41, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on October 14 with one count of receiving child pornography. Juan C. Valencia, 43, was indicted the same day with one count of distribution of child pornography. Ott appeared in court and pleaded not guilty Monday. Valencia appeared in court and pleaded not guilty Thursday.

The indictment accuses Ott of receiving files containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) between Sept. 1, 2024, and Sept. 3, 2026. Valencia’s indictment accuses him of distributing CSAM, including the same two files, during the same period.

A motion seeking to have Ott held in jail until trial says that he engaged in numerous conversations on Telegram during which he spoke about his attraction to minor girls, including some of the female students who attended his school. A motion seeking to hold Valencia in jail says he distributed CSAM to a middle school principal via Telegram.

Both charges carry a potential penalty of five to 20 years in prison. Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sila Karacal is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.