Jacob Silva - Soccer Coach - Child Predator

A Concord police detective testified in court yesterday that the laptop and computer hard drive used by accused soccer coach Jacob Silva is "heavily loaded" with child pornography. And there are still 8,000 videos on Silva's laptop the police have not yet reviewed, according to Detective Mark Dumas.

Dumas said the investigation against Silva, who is accused of soliciting child pornography from players of the Concord-based Express Soccer Club, has expanded beyond New England and is likely to be taken over by the federal authorities. Silva was a coach with that club for four years but coached in many other capacities elsewhere.

He was also recently in touch with 250 teenage boys on a Facebook website he maintained under the alias "Jamie," a 15-year-old girl, Dumas said.

Silva, 27, of Manchester was in Concord District Court yesterday with attorney Peter Anderson in hopes of getting his $130,000 cash-only bail reduced so he could be home for Christmas. Anderson said while the charges against Silva are serious, he asked Judge Gerard Boyle to consider that Silva did turn himself in and has not been charged with sexual assault.

At the close of yesterday's hearing, Boyle told Silva he had intended to lower the bail until Dumas testified about the discovery of child pornography. Instead, Boyle kept bail at $130,000 cash only.

Silva was arrested Dec. 14 and charged with 26 offenses that included soliciting child pornography, prohibited computer use, endangering the welfare of a child and prostitution. The charges identified 10 male victims, ages 13 to 16, and allege that Silva used an online site to ask the teenagers to expose themselves, create a video or photo of themselves masturbating, and simulate sex acts with another person.

In some cases, Silva communicated with the boys online while pretending to be "Jamie," Dumas said.

Thursday afternoon, the case was transferred to the Merrimack County Superior Court when a grand jury indicted Silva on 22 charges alleging most of the same conduct. Four of the earlier charges did not make the indictment: two for prostitution, one for criminal solicitation and one for prohibited computer use for allegedly using a computer to entice a child to commit indecent exposure.

The other charges remain: 10 counts of prohibited computer use; six counts of endangering the welfare of a child; five counts of criminal solicitation; and one count of prostitution. Each carries a prison sentence of 3½ to 7 years.

The police seized Silva's laptop computer and hard drive from his Manchester home in early December, after three former players of the Express Soccer Club told club president Gary Hirshberg of Concord that they'd had inappropriate communications with Silva. Hirshberg and Paul Maggiotto, the club's vice president, immediately alerted the police and the nearly 300 parents whose children play in the soccer club.

Ever since, the police have been examining the computer equipment, talking to the alleged victims and reaching out to authorities in other jurisdictions where Silva has coached.

Dumas described the images that have been reviewed as pornographic, with male genitalia. In addition to the images, videos and deleted files found on Silva's computer equipment, Dumas said the police found troubling evidence on Silva's Facebook account. Facebook keeps records of its users' online activities for only 90 days, Dumas said. But in that three-month window, Silva amassed a list of 250 "friends" - all male high school students, Dumas said.

Those "friends" go to a variety of high schools and do not include any of the 10 boys already identified in the criminal charges, Dumas said. "The scope of this investigation is overwhelming," Dumas said yesterday in court. "It's spreading across the U.S."

Dumas said he believes Silva has been conducting inappropriate communications with teenage boys for a number of years because the police have talked with alleged victims just starting to play soccer as well as college students who played for Silva years ago.

Dumas said the police are concerned that other alleged victims will be reluctant to come forward because males have trouble discussing "male-on-male" misconduct. The police are also concerned for some of the known victims and have helped them connect with counselors, Dumas said.

Silva appeared in court yesterday in jail-issued orange pants and T-shirt. Silva did not address the court. Anderson said Silva would like to post bail and resume his own counseling with a psychologist. Silva is being held at the Merrimack County jail.