Ex-teacher indicted on child porn charge
A federal indictment says the 24-year veteran of Pasco County schools kept sexual images on his home computer.
By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published March 1, 2005
A former Pine View Middle School teacher was indicted Monday in federal court on charges he possessed child pornography.
Lin Joseph Bly, known to some of his former students as "Mr. Bly the Science Guy," turned himself in after a grand jury charged he knowingly kept images of minors engaging in sexual acts on his home computer and hard drive - material the grand jury determined he received through the mail in violation of federal law.
Bly, 58, could not be reached at his home late Monday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office on Nov. 4 seized an eMachine computer, Seagate hardware and a Smartdisk Firefly hard drive from his Pintail Court residence in Land O'Lakes. Bly agreed to pay $20,000 bail Monday and was released from custody, U.S. attorney spokesman Steve Cole said.
Cole said he couldn't say how investigators were tipped off to Bly's alleged activities. The indictment indicated he received child pornography images through the mail between Sept. 16 and Nov. 4 of last year.
The teacher was a 24-year veteran of Pasco County schools before he resigned Nov. 10, six days after school officials placed him on leave pending the results of the federal child pornography investigation.
When he left, Bly was teaching sixth-graders at Pine View in Land O'Lakes, where he had been a fixture since 1991. His personnel evaluations over the years described him as "professional" and "commited to student growth."
Bly also has held positions at Anclote Elementary, Pasco Middle, and Marchman and Schwettman education centers. He was named teacher of the year for the Energy Marine Center in 1988, where he worked as a field trip supervisor from 1985 to 1991.
Neither the grand jury's three-page indictment nor school officials' statements suggest any children at the school were linked to the matter.
Ray Gadd, administrative assistant for the school district, said that beyond forwarding the indictment to the state Department of Education's Office of Professional Practices, the school district's relationship with Bly has ended.
"He's resigned. We're finished," Gadd said.
Professional Practices investigates allegations of wrongdoing by certified teachers. It has the power to revoke certification.