An Edmonds School District employee was charged this week with possessing child pornography on his home computer.
Timothy Patrick Buckley, 51, of Edmonds is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 10 in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Buckley worked as a teacher’s assistant and tutor at Seaview and Terrace Park elementary schools, but school district officials said none of the illegal photos allegedly taken by Buckley were shot on school grounds.
Illegal photos apparently were downloaded from the Internet, deputy prosecutor Matt Baldock said. In addition, Buckley’s computer had images of fully clothed young girls from the schools where he worked, he added.
The photos were taken during regular school-day activities such as walking in the hall, sitting or lying down in the classroom, or playing outside, Baldock said.
The photos appeared to have been taken without the girls’ permission, and many of the photos focused on the girls’ sexual anatomy. However, that’s not illegal, Baldock said.
Some recent broadcast news reports did not make a distinction between the school photos and nude photos Buckley allegedly downloaded from the Internet, said Debbie Jakala, a spokeswoman for the school district.
“They gave the impression that pornography had occurred with our kids on school grounds. That is absolutely not the case,” Jakala said. Taking such photos may be inappropriate, but it’s not illegal, she added.
Baldock said charging papers should have made it clear that no nude photos were take on school grounds.
Buckley will remain on administrative leave from his job pending an investigation by the school district, Jakala said. In his job as a teacher’s assistant, his tasks included working one-on-one and in small groups with children, she said.
Buckley had been convicted of second-degree burglary and second-degree arson in 1984, both felonies, before he started work for the school district.
“All of our employees undergo a background check,” Jakala said. Information on school hiring policies was temporarily unavailable, she said.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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