Former special education teacher charged with child pornography possession

A former south suburban special education teacher was arrested Tuesday on multiple child pornography charges.

Michael Levin, 62, is charged with four felony counts of possession of child pornography, according to a statement from the Will County Sheriff’s Office.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children contacted the sheriff’s office in October after a tip led them to Levin, the sheriff’s office said. Local investigators then took over the case.

Detectives met with Levin at his Steger home on Feb. 8, at which point Levin was cooperative and let them search the home and his electronic devices, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators found more than 1,000 videos and images of child pornography during their forensic computer investigation.

Levin recently retired and formerly worked for more than 39 years as a special education teacher for the SPEED Special Education Joint Agreement District 802 in Chicago Heights, the sheriff’s office said.

A representative for SPEED declined to comment on Levin’s arrest Wednesday morning.

Authorities obtained an arrest warrant for Levin on Tuesday and took him into custody at his home, the sheriff’s office said. He is being held at the Will County Adult Detention Facility on $500,000 bail.