The North San Diego County substitute teacher and hockey coach accused of distributing child pornography has been indicted by a federal grand jury. The indictment means there is enough evidence to take Daniel Dasko to trial for distributing images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Dasko, 30, worked as a substitute teacher in four North County districts. He also coached hockey players under the age of 12 at the San Diego Ice Arena.
There is nothing in the indictment, or the federal complaint filed against Dasko that alleges his own students were exploited, but the FBI’s investigation is ongoing.
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Prosecutors said the investigation that led to Dasko's arrest began last year regarding the unnamed Philadelphia teacher, who prosecutors say conspired with others to pose as women or girls on social media sites in order to bait minor male victims into sending them nude photos or videos.
According to Dasko's criminal complaint, an FBI agent wrote that the teacher and a person in New York known as "Alex" worked to bait the Philadelphia teacher's own middle school students into sharing such content.
Dasko, who was arraigned virtually because he is in quarantine, entered a not guilty plea even though the criminal complaint indicates he confessed.
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The Philadelphia teacher and "Alex" have since been arrested and charged, according to the complaint.
During that investigation, prosecutors say the Philadelphia teacher was found to be communicating online with another person who went by the name "Mr. Pickles," who the U.S. Attorney's Office contends is Dasko.
Prosecutors said the teacher and "Mr. Pickles" exchanged more than 3,600 messages over the course of a year, the majority of which revolved around "sexually exploiting children they knew or met online." They also traded image and video files, though the complaint states that the content of many of these files could not be viewed by law enforcement.
However, the complaint states that last year, "Alex" sent "Mr. Pickles" a sexually explicit video he had acquired from a teenage boy, which "Mr. Pickles" then sent to the Philadelphia teacher.
After Thursday's hearing, Dasok's attorney, Marcus Bourassa, whisked past an NBC 7 reporter at the courthouse refusing to answer questions.
Dasko returns to court on August 4 to ask for bail. He is currently being held without bail. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Investigators are still seeking additional victims or anyone with information about this case. If you have information you are encouraged to call the FBI San Diego Field Office at 858-320-1800, or submit a tip to tips.fbi.gov, which can be submitted anonymously.
