A Boston man already charged with possessing child pornography was held on additional bail for allegedly recording a sexual assault on a child, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

DAVID ETTLINGER (D.O.B. 7/6/77), a resident of Allston/Brighton and a schoolteacher in Newton, was arraigned today in West Roxbury District Court on charges of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and posing a child in a state of nudity. The former offense carries up to 10 years in state prison; the latter carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to 20.

“Let’s be clear about what this case entails,” Conley said. “It arises out of a long-term federal investigation into the violent sexual abuse of children across state lines and national boundaries. The investigation led to Boston, and more specifically to state charges against this defendant. The evidence as it stands suggests a despicable violation of every duty he had to protect the innocent and vulnerable, and we intend to prosecute that violation aggressively.”

Assistant District Attorney David Deakin, chief of Conley’s Family Protection and Sexual Assault Bureau, recommended that Ettlinger be held on $250,000 cash bail and be ordered to have no contact with children if he posts bail. Judge Kathleen Coffey imposed a cash bail of $100,000 and additionally ordered that Ettlinger wear a GPS monitoring device and have no contact with any children if he posts bail.

Ettlinger was arrested yesterday at his Commonwealth Avenue home by Massachusetts State Police assisting in the execution of a federal search warrant. A preliminary inspection of his computers revealed the presence of multiple image files depicting children under 18 in sexualized contexts.
Those files provided the foundation for his arraignment yesterday for possessing child pornography. He was held on $10,000 cash bail after those proceedings in Brighton District Court.

Among the files observed yesterday were images that prosecutors say show Ettlinger sexually assaulting a young girl. The victim’s identity is known to authorities, who say she was under 14 at the time of the incident several years ago. Evidence suggests the assault took place within the jurisdiction of West Roxbury court, which includes the neighborhoods of Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, West Roxbury, and parts of Mattapan and Mission Hill. In order to protect the victim’s privacy, prosecutors are withholding her exact age and the location of the abuse.

Acting on that evidence and information developed throughout the day yesterday, Boston Police obtained complaints charging Ettlinger with the latest offenses. The ongoing investigation includes representatives of Conley’s office, Boston and State Police, the Middlesex District Attorney’s office, and the United States Attorney’s office.

Kate Lagana is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Ettlinger is represented by attorney Greg L. Johnson. He will return to Brighton court on Feb. 16 and West Roxbury court on Feb. 17.