‘Oops I did a crime’: WA high school teacher charged with child porn
WA high school teacher charged with child porn
A teacher at Archbishop Murphy High School in Everett was arrested and fired following allegations of possessing child pornography.
SEATTLE - A teacher at Archbishop Murphy High School in Everett was arrested and fired following allegations of possessing child pornography.
According to a statement, the high school placed 32-year-old John Doty on administrative leave after his arrest by King County Sheriff's deputies last week. The school fired him shortly after and sent a notice to parents on Monday.
The school clarified that Doty's arrest stemmed from conduct outside his employment at the school.
Archbishop Murphy High School (File / FOX 13)
What we know:
Court documents obtained by FOX 13 Seattle show Doty has been charged with first-degree possession of child pornography and first-degree dealing in child pornography.
"It’s really, truly peddling in the misery of sexually abused children. When you read the descriptions, it’s pretty gut-wrenching to know what happens to these children in all types of cases," said King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office spokesperson Casey McNerthney.
A King County Sheriff's detective pulled several videos and images of child pornography from an IP address using torrent software, according to court docs. With a search warrant, the detective traced the IP address, which returned a Comcast customer in the Seattle area, which eventually led to Doty's address in Seattle.
Detectives brought Doty in for questioning, and he admitted to using torrent software to download pornography, and also said "he knows that there are files containing depictions of minors mixed in with the content he watches," according to court docs.
"We know that there are other people out there right now as we’re talking who are engaged in this kind of really despicable behavior. And we also know that there’s probably other teachers at other districts who just haven’t been caught yet. They will be at some point," said McNerthney.
According to court records, Doty told investigators he "enjoyed the thrill of knowing he committed a crime" each time he collected pornographic material of children, saying he considers it a game of "crime roulette."
"One of the many problems with this is that these photographs and videos live on forever. And so the victim can be retraumatized really for a lifetime. And in a number of cases we’ve seen how traumatic it is for people who are victims in these cases to know that people are looking at these really disturbing images," said McNerthney.
He admitted to using torrents since he was 10 years old, and said he's "been at it so long" that the disgust of child pornography no longer disgusts him. He likened it "more to a [feeling] of ‘oops I did a crime,’" according to probable cause documents.
Prosecutors have requested that Doty be held on $250,000 bail, and that he have no contact with children and no internet access unless it is monitored.
"Sometimes we see people who admit things that their attorneys would not want them to. And even if they don’t we frequently see people plead guilty as charged because the cases that King County prosecutors bring to court are solid," said McNerthney. "It’s really disturbing work to have to watch these videos as evidence. I mean, many people don’t think the prosecutor or the police on cases just like this one have to go through to review that evidence. But it’s also hard for the jury, if they were to see it. Or, even the judge. But it’s important to get that case to court."
The Source: Information in this story comes from a statement from Archbishop Murphy High School and court records from King County Superior Court.
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