Employee of South Bay Christian school allegedly paid students for explicit photos, videos
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A facility worker at a private South Bay school system has been arrested for allegedly paying students to send him explicit images and videos.
San Jose police are now asking any potential additional victims to come forward.
Todd Baldwin, 43, a facility worker at the Valley Christian Schools was arrested on Thursday. Police are not saying exactly what led them to Baldwin.
Baldwin’s home, and his office on campus, were searched, and he was arrested by the Silicon Valley Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Valley Christian Schools has separate elementary, middle and high schools located on two different campus complexes. The middle and high schools are co-located up a private driveway in south San Jose just off Monterey Highway.
"It is definitely kind of tense up there. There are a lot of questions going on up there with the faculty and the students because nobody really knows what is happening right now. There are a lot of rumors going around about what we think happened," said Rhona Souter, a student at the school.
Students say the word is traveling fast on campus about the arrest.
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San Jose police say Baldwin was allegedly paying students for providing him explicit images and video, but at this point, they are not disclosing how Baldwin allegedly committed these crimes nor if any occurred on the campus itself.
The president of the school, Dr. Clifford Daugherty, sent out a message to the campus community saying the school is committed to transparency and will share updates when possible. The president also told parents he understands the "gravity" of the situation and the "concerns it may raise."
In a formal statement released to the media, the school said:
"We at Valley Christian Schools are deeply disturbed by the actions outlined in these charges against a member of our facilities department, which is antithetical to our Christian faith, values, and standards. Upon learning of the allegations, we fully cooperated with authorities. Additionally, we placed the individual in question on administrative leave."
"It is just weird. You don’t think about it happening at your school," said McKenna Yeomans, another student at the school.
Daugherty is asking the campus community to offer "support, prayer and empathy" for those impacted.
Todd Baldwin was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail pending the filing of formal criminal charges and arraignment.