A tenured Villanova University professor, Christopher Haas, was recently charged with 415 counts of sexual abuse of children and possession of child pornography. A warrant for his arrest was issued on March 25th after Villanova officials notified Radnor Township police that he had accessed child pornography on a campus computer.
Haas, an associate professor of History and Classical Studies, was subject to a 2012 Department of Homeland Security search that found over 400 pornographic images on his home computer, which produced no charges. Federal authorities only recently released this information to the Delaware County DA to assist in the new investigation. When asked about the findings almost 4 years ago and not notifying Villanova about the search, a Homeland Security spokesman declined to answer.
The Villanovan quoted Director of Public Safety David Tedjeske on the removal of Haas, who has been at Villanova since 1988.
“Haas was relieved of his teaching duties, and that [sic] the institution would likely initiate a de-tenuring process against the professor,” he said.
He is currently being held in the Delaware County Prison to undergo psychological evaluation. In October 2012 he was briefly reported missing and police feared he might have committed suicide.
