Keene woman who worked in childcare guilty of producing child porn

CONCORD - A licensed childcare provider from Keene has been convicted of aiding and abetting the production of child sexual abuse material following a five-day trial in U.S. District Court in Concord.

United States District Court Judge Steven J. McAuliffe scheduled the sentencing hearing for Krystal Bard, 40, for February when she could face a statutory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, according to a release from the U.S. Attorneys Office. She has been in federal custody since March of 2024.

According to the evidence admitted at trial, on Jan. 29, 2024, Krystal and Paul Baird were babysitting a 9-year-old child. After the child was given THC-infused candy, Krystal Baird directed Paul Baird to try to get the child to play with his genitals. Paul Baird took at least one sexually explicit image of the victim's genitalia. Krystal Baird then photographed Paul Baird sexually assaulting the victim, thus producing child sexual abuse material. Paul Baird later uploaded links to three sexually explicit images of the minor victim on a dark website dedicated to child pornography.

The evidence showed that the couple had been drugging and abusing the victim since at least August of 2023. Before her arrest, Krystal Baird was a licensed childcare provider.