Former Idaho school worker sent to treatment over child porn

NAMPA, Idaho – A former Idaho school district employee has been ordered to spend months at a treatment facility after pleading guilty to charges connected to the possession of child pornography.

Third District Court Judge Davis VanderVelde also told 55-year-old Charles Gonzales that if he doesn’t successfully complete the treatment program, he may be ordered to serve up to 10 years in prison.

The Idaho Press newspaper in Nampa reports Gonzales pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a child in March. He was arrested last year after the Idaho Crimes Against Children Unit received a tip about him. According to court documents, Gonzalez had between 200 and 300 files of child pornography on his computer but told officers he deleted them all months before his arrest.

Gonzales worked for the West Ada School District for 14 years as a computer technology technician at Sawtooth Middle School and Hunter and Prospect elementary schools. He was fired eight days after his arrest.

School district officials said Gonzales did not work with students and the charges were unrelated to his work for the district.