Eastside elementary teacher, 72, arrested in child porn case
Oct 16, 2014, 6:52 PM | Updated: 10:11 pm
A longtime substitute teacher for the Northshore School District has been arrested on child pornography charges and allegedly confessed to molesting two young boys nearly four decades ago.
The 72-year-old Woodinville man was ordered held on $500,000 bail Thursday.
According to court documents, Kirkland police were contacted by a computer repair technician who found pornographic images of young children on the man’s computer.
“(The) photos were all of young children in various stages of sexual acts and undress,” said Kirkland police Lt. Mike Murray.
Investigators served a search warrant at the man’s home and uncovered additional images, including albums containing pornographic photographs of children as young as 8 years old, Lt. Murray said.
According to court documents, the man denied taking any of the photos himself and said he considered looking at child porn to be a “victimless crime.” The man also denied sharing the photos with anyone else, according to the documents, but said he did occasionally use the photos for sexual gratification.
“I asked him when he started looking at images of children,” the detective wrote. “(He) stated, ‘All my life. I have always been fascinated by images of children.'”
When the man was asked whether he had ever touched a child inappropriately, investigators claim he confessed to molesting two teenaged boys in California in the 1970’s. The man allegedly told detectives he touched a 15-year-old boy in the genitals during a camping trip for the Big Brother program in 1976.
A spokesperson for the Northshore School District said the allegations against the man are “deeply disturbing” and that the district is cooperating fully with investigators.
“Providing a safe, secure learning environment for students and staff is our top priority,” District Spokesperson Leanna Albrecht wrote in an email. “(The man) has been an elementary substitute teacher for the district since 2000. During that time, there have been no reported incidents of questionable conduct with students.”
Charges in the case are pending.
