Sacramento Teacher Arrested on Suspicion of Child Sexual Abuse Material

By: Epoch Times - US Posted On: November 08, 2024 View: 3

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The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) arrested longtime Sacramento, California, schoolteacher Mark Sirard on Nov. 4 for the alleged possession of child sexual abuse material, according to detectives.

The SCSO and the Internet Crimes Against Children/Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force arrested Sirard with help from Homeland Security Investigations.

“This case stemmed from information from the authorities in the United Kingdom and other law enforcement authorities overseas,” the SCSO wrote on social media platform X.

Sirard, 52, was held in the Sacramento County Main Jail on $50,000 bail. He posted bond after being booked and has been released from custody.

“This is an active and ongoing criminal investigation,” wrote the SCSO. “Detectives are concerned there may be unreported victims.”

It asked for any information from the community.

Sirard has most recently instructed seventh and eighth grade English Language Arts at Leonardo Da Vinci K–8 School, the Sacramento City Unified School District said in a statement seen by KCRA Sacramento.

Sirard, who has worked at the district since 1999, took students in the Shakespeare Club on multiday field trips to the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, during his teaching years. He has not been to any district sites since May, however, and is on administrative leave.

“The news is deeply disturbing as our highest priority as a school district is to protect our students and staff from harm on our school sites,” the school district wrote in a statement, KCRA Sacramento stated. “As we continue to cooperate with law enforcement, we remain fully committed to taking every necessary step to protect and support our students.”

The Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Task Force/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force has been conducting long-term proactive investigations into subjects who use the internet to share child sexual abuse material, also known as child pornography.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and Sacramento City Unified School District for comment but did not hear back by publication time.

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