San Jose Elementary School Teacher Arrested On Child Porn Charges
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) - Police were investigating whether a former San Jose elementary school teacher may have committed lewd acts with students, following the his arrest on child pornography charges Wednesday.
Milpitas police arrested Johnny Urias, 50, at his San Jose home in the 1400 block of Merry Lane at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Milpitas police spokeswoman Officer Trish Young-Orth said.
Urias was taken into custody on suspicion of possessing and manufacturing child pornography, Milpitas police said.
A husband and father of two, Urias is on paid leave from San Jose's Will Rogers Elementary School, where he taught until September, Young-Orth said.
Milpitas police began investigating Urias, who used to live in Milpitas, in August 2011 after they received a report that he was possibly in possession of child pornography, police said.
However, they did not have enough evidence to arrest him until this month, when hard drives they had seized had been processed for evidence, according to Young-Orth.
The hard drives had been confiscated in September 2011, when Milpitas police conducted warranted searches of Urias' home, vehicle, and classroom. According to police, the school was then notified and Urias was placed on leave.
Milpitas sent the seized computers and hard drives to the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for processing, which yielded enough evidence to arrest Urias this month.
In a letter to parents on Wednesday, the Alum Rock Union School District said that San Jose police had been conducting interviews at William Rogers Elementary throughout the week, and that a staff member had been arrested.
The letter noted that the staff member is on paid administrative leave and that the school has no knowledge of any misconduct at the elementary school.
San Jose police said they are working closely with Milpitas police and administrators at Will Rogers to find any possible victims of abuse. Milpitas police said they have executed an additional search warrant on Urias' San Jose home.
Urias is being held in Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of possession of child pornography and manufacturing child pornography, according to police.
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