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Ex-school employee, coach pleads not guilty to child porn charges

Posted at 1:08 PM, Nov 29, 2012
and last updated 2012-11-29 15:08:02-05

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - Following an arraignment Thursday, the trial for Michael Winston Baynes is set to take place on February 5. 

Baynes faced a judge Thursday morning where he answered to two counts of receipt of child pornography.  The two counts were recently handed down by a grand jury on Nov. 13.

The 59-year-old left a U.S. District courtroom along with his lawyer Frederick Michael Schick--following a 15 minute arraignment.  Inside the courtroom, Baynes pleaded not guilty to the two counts of child pornography. 

Baynes was arrested on Oct. 22, after the U.S. Postal Service alerted officials to the alleged delivery of child pornography movies from an international company, to his Henrico home.

According to court documents, investigators then discovered a homemade movie that included Baynes and a boy younger than 18.  Investigators said the movie was likely filmed between 1992 and 1993. 

In the movie, Baynes "purports to educate the child about sex and teach him how to protect himself from attackers."  At one point Baynes asked the boy to remove his clothing and lie face-down on Baynes's bed.  

Detectives did not believe this was an isolated case.  Investigators reportedly also found photo albums and CDs filled with pictures of young boys at bus stops, pools and the bleachers of athletic events--dating back to the early 1980s.

Before Baynes' arrest, he was an assistant to the athletic director at the Steward School in western Henrico. In addition to that job, Baynes previously maintained the athletic fields for Henrico County from 1974 to 2011.  He also coached for the Tuckahoe Little League. 

However, federal investigators found no students at Steward School were involved with the case.  

For now Baynes is allowed to remain free on bond, pending his February jury trial.  

If Baynes is found guilty of the two child pornography charges, he is facing five to 20 years behind bars and a $250,000 fine.