A former private school teacher and camp counselor facing child pornography charges was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list Tuesday.
Eric Justin Toth,
also known as David Bussone, was a third grade teacher at the National Cathedral’s Beauvoir school in Washington, D.C., in 2008 when pornographic images were found on a school camera that had allegedly been in his possession. Toth went missing while the initial investigation was under way. He was later indicted in Washington for possession of child pornography and in Maryland for production of child pornography.
An FBI official said Toth allegedly installed a camera in a bathroom adjacent to his classroom which was used by students.
Toth, 30, is 6 feet, 3 inches tall, weighs approximately 155 pounds and has brown hair and green eyes. The FBI issued a wanted poster with several photos of the suspect.
The agency described Toth as a computer expert who has above average knowledge of the Internet. He graduated from Purdue University with an education degree and the FBI poster says “he may advertise online as a tutor or male nanny.”
FBI wanted poster images of Toth
According to the FBI, since he left the Washington area, Toth is believed to have traveled to Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota. He was last seen in a homeless shelter in Phoenix in 2009.
The FBI hopes adding Toth to the most wanted list and offering a reward of up to $100,000 will bring in new tips and lead to his arrest. An FBI statement notes the former teacher has eluded capture despite various media reports about the case and his being featured on the “America’s Most Wanted” television program.
The May 2011 raid by U.S. forces in Pakistan which killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden opened up the spot on the Top Ten list which Toth now fills. “There is no comparison to be made between Toth and bin Laden,” said FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jacqueline Maguire. “Although Eric Toth has not murdered anyone and he is not an international terrorist, that does not mean he isn’t dangerous.”
“We are very concerned that he may be in contact with other children, so we are asking for the public’s assistance to help us capture him,” Maguire added.
Alleged Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger, also on the FBI Top Ten list, was arrested in California in June. He is still pictured on the list with a banner underneath his face saying “captured.” The FBI has not yet announced who will fill Bulger’s slot.
Toth is the 495th person to be put on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List, which was created in 1950. The FBI says 465 of those fugitives were found, 153 of them as a result of help from the public.