Tourist’s Tip Aids in the Capture of Former DC Teacher on FBI’s Most Wanted List

A fugitive on the FBI’s Most Wanted List, former Washington school teacher, Eric Justin Toth, 31, was finally captured on Saturday in Esteli, a city about 90 miles north of Managua after a tourist, who recognized him tipped off the FBI. He was scheduled to appear in a US court on Tuesday after being extradited from Nicaragua, according to the officials.

The tourist, who was on vacation in Nicaragua, met Eric Toth and immediately recognized him from a media coverage she had seen before. She alerted the FBI by telling them where he was and what alias he was using, according to the authorities.

After the school was informed on Monday about the arrest, they released a statement, in which they commended the work of the Office of the U.S. Attorney and the FBI for their ongoing efforts to apprehend Mr. Toth.

In a news conference, Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. Attorney for Maryland said, ‘this is just one more example that, hopefully, will send a message to criminals that you can’t run far enough to get away from federal law enforcement.’

Eric Toth was born in Fairfax County and grew up in Indiana, according to the FBI.  He attended Cornell University for a year, and then transferred to Purdue University, where he earned an education degree. He was a third-grade teacher at Beauvoir, a private elementary school at the National Cathedral. He also worked as a camp counselor, nanny and teaching assistant.

District of Columbia and Maryland issued arrest warrants for Toth and charged him with child pornography when a school camera in his possession that had pornographic images of one of his former students was allegedly found by Beauvoir employees in June, 2008. He has been on the run for 5 years.

 
The maximum penalty for production of child pornography is 30 years in prison, while that of possession of child pornography is 20 years.