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San Jose Special Education Teacher Arrested For Alleged Child Porn Possession

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A special education teacher was arrested at South San Jose's Pioneer High School Thursday afternoon for alleged possession of child pornography, police said Friday.

John Hayden, 41, was hired in August and taught resource, according to San Jose Unified School District spokesman Peter Allen.

Hayden taught in the Sunnyvale School District before being hired in San Jose.

The police department's Internet Crimes Against Children task force found child porn images at Hayden's home in San Jose while serving a search warrant on Thursday.

Police then removed Hayden from his classroom "right away," Allen said. He was booked into the county jail and is on paid leave, per SJUSD policy.

"The safety of our students, the safety of our campus, is top priority," Allen said.

Detectives have not uncovered any instances of criminal behavior at Pioneer, and are now looking into any unreported incidents at his prior jobs.

Anyone with information about this case has been asked to call San Jose police Detective Sgt. Spears or Detective Jourdenais at (408) 537-1397 or (408) 277-4102.

Those wishing to remain anonymous can call (408) 947-7867. Cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect may be available.

© Copyright 2017 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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