Watch CBS News

2 Former Employees At Vacaville Theater Arrested For Child Porn

VACAVILLE (CBS SF) -- Two Vacaville men who worked as technicians at the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre have been arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography, Vacaville police said.

The investigation began in April when a Vacaville computer forensic detective became aware that Donald Keith Wade Jr., 36, had allegedly been sharing child pornography on his computer, Sgt. Matt Lydon said.

Police learned Wade was employed as a technician for the San Francisco-based Venue Tech theater management and event production company.

Lydon said Vacaville police discovered cellphone videos of underage girls from a specific dance club who were changing in a backstage room at the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre in 2013.

Police contacted the dance club to try to identify the girls in the video but have not been able to because the videos were taken from above, Lydon said.

"There are a lot of dance clubs that perform at the theater," he said.

The videos were downloaded from a cellphone to Wade's computer, but only two of the videos could possibly rise to a level sufficient to file a criminal complaint, Lydon said.

Police then learned that a second Vacaville man and Venue Tech employee, Thomas McPike, 35, also was involved in alleged possession of child pornography and they served a search warrant at his home, Lydon said.

McPike's computer contained child pornography and both men were arrested on suspicion of felony possession of child pornography unrelated to the videos taken in the Vacaville theater, Lydon said.

Wade and McPike posted bail and Wade is scheduled for further arraignment on Aug. 11. Charges have yet to be filed against McPike as of Tuesday.

The Solano County District Attorney's Office is reviewing the case for possible misdemeanor charges against the two men for allegedly surreptitiously recording the girls who were undressing in the theater, Lydon said.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.