Ex-coach at San Jose's Valley Christian High School charged with selling child porn
Todd Baldwin was arrested for paying students for explicit photos and videos. Photo credit: SJPD
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A former sports coach at a San Jose Christian school, Valley Christian High School, has been charged by federal prosecutors with allegations related to soliciting nude photos of teenage boys, paying them for the images and then splitting the proceeds, which he earned by selling on Reddit.
Asst. U.S. Attorney Marissa Harris charged Todd Baldwin, 44, with two counts of "enticement of a minor" stemming from what occurred between December 2022 to August 2023, based on the testimony of a 17-year-old boy at Valley Christian High, where Baldwin worked, and a 16-year-old boy at Live Oak High School in San Jose, along with other online evidence.
Baldwin no longer works at Valley Christian, where administrators cooperated with investigators as far back as last summer when Baldwin was first arrested.
Baldwin does not have an attorney on record and has not yet entered a plea to the criminal charges, which were filed on Oct. 10. He is being held in custody with no bail.
San Jose police have been investigating the case since August 2023 but turned it over to the FBI.
In a federal complaint, FBI Special Agent Colleen Dettling detailed the allegations.
In October 2022, a 17-year-old boy, who used to be one of Baldwin's teaching assistants, told investigators that he wanted a job at school. Baldwin said if he took pornographic videos and pictures of himself, he would sell those images on Reddit and split the proceeds, the criminal complaint states.
The boy sent pictures of him masturbating and posing sexually to Badwin through email and Snapchat, he told investigators.
Baldwin bought a special ring light to improve the quality of the pictures and also provided the boy underwear, which the teen wore during athletic practice, according to the criminal complaint. Baldwin then sold the "soiled underwear online" and shared the profits with the boy, Dettling wrote in her affidavit.
At least once, Baldwin took sexual pictures of the teen at Valley Christian himself, before paying the boy "several hundred dollars."
Officers found several pornographic videos and images the boy sent Baldwin on his computer. Police also searched Baldwin's Venmo history and saw that Baldwin paid the teen on at least 28 occasions, totaling $4,265 between December 2022 and August 2023, according to the complaint.
San Jose police also interviewed a 16-year-old boy at Live Oak High School in San Jose.
This boy knew the 17-year-old and wanted a similar arrangement. He contacted Baldwin on Snapchat and began sending Baldwin about 20 pictures two or three times a week for several weeks. Baldwin paid him about $2,500, according to the complaint.
San Jose police interviewed Baldwin in August 2023, where he "admitted to receiving nude images from multiple boys in exchange for money," including the 17-year-old and 16-year-old boys, as well as two other students at Valley Christian, according to the complaint.
As of Friday, there was no next court hearing scheduled.
Baldwin had worked for the school since 1998. He was placed on administrative leave at the start of the investigation and is no longer employed by the school.
At the time, the president of the school, Clifford Daughtery, told the campus community that the school leaders "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."