Man who worked with children facing 100 felony counts of possessing child sex abuse material
A man who worked with children is now facing 100 felony counts of possessing child sexual abuse material after investigators said they uncovered some of the most disturbing images and videos they have ever seen.
According to police, they found thousands during a search of his phone and are still analyzing the rest.
The case began at New Brighton Area Middle School with an entirely different child sexual assault investigation. However, while searching the suspect's phone in that case, detectives said they stumbled across something even bigger—thousands of files depicting the sexual abuse of children, and in some cases, toddlers.
"This is a very large number of images and videos," said Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible. "Maybe one of the largest that I've seen since I've been here."
What began as an investigation into an alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl quickly turned into a much larger child exploitation investigation.
Bible said what investigators found on Luke Poteete's phone is difficult to comprehend. He said more than 2,500 images and videos were found.
Some of that material allegedly showed the rape of toddlers, children being sexually assaulted by adults, and other graphic abuse involving animals.
"They dumped his phone and just found 2,500 or so images and videos of just some of the most horrific child pornography that probably exists," Bible said.
Bible said a 12-year-old victim came forward last year, telling investigators she met Poteete while he was sitting in on classes at New Brighton Area Middle School as a Geneva College student. She told police that Poteete bought alcohol for her and a friend before allegedly raping her in the back of a vehicle.
None of it would have come to light if that 12-year-old hadn't come forward.
"Without her bravery, we would have no idea what was on the phone," Bible said.
So far, 100 felony counts have been filed, but Bible stressed that only represents a fraction of what investigators found. He said they chose to move quickly to get Poteete off the streets while investigators work to determine whether there are any local victims connected to the evidence that was recovered.
Meanwhile, Geneva College said that Poteete hasn't been a student since the 2025 fall semester, and they are not permitted to comment on any student records, but they did provide the following statement.
"As an institution, we remain committed to campus safety and the integrity of our community values. We will cooperate with any law enforcement inquiries we may receive."
