A former Brite Divinity professor is facing up to 20 years in federal prison after multiple pornographic images of small children were allegedly found on his work computer.
Charles Kilby Bellinger, 62, worked as a theology professor and librarian at the Brite Divinity School, which is located on Texas Christian University’s (TCU) campus but functions as a separate entity from the university.
TCU Information Technology Security Services discovered the sexual images on Bellinger’s work computer with file names such as “infant” and “toddler.”
All images were saved under the user “cbellinger.”
Court documents described the graphic sexual images of minors that were found on Bellinger’s computer. Some of the images depicted adults sexually assaulting children.
Investigators discovered a hard drive and an SD card in the former teacher’s office with multiple sexually explicit photographs of pre-pubescent minors. Additional encrypted devices were discovered locked in a safe in his office and are still being investigated.
The SD card was manufactured in Taiwan, leading investigators to believe that it and the images on it were transported in foreign commerce.
Bellinger’s attorney, Cody Cofer, would not comment on the specifics of the case, but he did issue a statement, as reported by KERA.
“Unfortunately, with the nature of these allegations, law enforcement and much of the public assume guilt. However, it seemed the Fort Worth Police Officer [who] testified at the preliminary hearing [Thursday] had no first-hand knowledge of any direct evidence of guilt,” said Cofer, per KERA. “Mr. Bellinger’s legal team is already conducting a comprehensive investigation to clear the path for the truth to be presented in his defense.”
Bellinger’s arrest is one of many recent cases involving residents with religious affiliations who have been implicated in illicit crimes involving minors.
In late September, a former North Texas youth pastor was sentenced to 50 years in prison for sexually assaulting multiple minors at overnight church trips. Marvin Scales, 53, impregnated one of his victims, who was 14 years old, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Earlier this summer, a Catholic priest in Garland was arrested for two counts of indecency with a child. The former priest, 34-year-old Ricardo Reyes Mata, was a priest with the Catholic Diocese of Dallas. Three sisters, 10, 11, and 14, all reported inappropriate touching by Mata.
Gateway Church in Southlake made headlines this summer following the resignation of Lead Pastor Robert Morris after he was accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s.