Modesto teacher arrested on child pornography charge

Police arrested a Modesto junior high teacher after he was found in possession of child pornography, a police spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Daniel Glenn, a teacher assigned to Mark Twain Junior High School, surrendered himself at the county jail Tuesday afternoon, said Heather Graves, spokeswoman for Modesto Police Department.

Graves said police received information that a former female student had been sending “inappropriate digital media” to Glenn. “We searched his residence and found he was in possession of child pornography,” Graves said.

In an email Wednesday afternoon, Modesto City Schools notified parents about the arrest. The email said Glenn was prohibited from entering the grounds of any schools or contacting students, parents or staff.

Craig Rydquist, associate superintendent for human resources, said Glenn is on paid administrative leave. He said the district is cooperating with a Modesto police investigation and will conduct its own internal investigation.

“Since this is a criminal matter, which will be heard in court, we are not able to provide any more specific details,” Rydquist said. He said the school district and police were taking steps to guarantee the safety of schoolchildren.

Glenn formerly was a teacher at Wilson Elementary School and was assigned to Mark Twain for the current school year, Rydquist said. The associate administrator had no details on the subjects taught by Glenn at the west Modesto school.

The teacher could not be reached for comment.

Graves said the former student, who was younger than 16, shared the digital pictures with Glenn near the end of the last school year and over the summer. The victim came forward to speak with police in September.

A search warrant was served at Glenn’s home, finding child pornography on his computer, Graves said.

Detectives continued with an investigation until they determined there was enough evidence for an arrest. Searching through the digital media was a time-consuming process, Graves said.

“There are a lot of hoops to jump through before we can make an arrest,” she said.

The school district asked that anyone with information regarding the investigation contact police Detective Sean Dodge at (209) 342-9123.

According to a 2010 article in The Modesto Bee, Glenn worked on annual track and field events for fifth- and sixth-graders at Wilson Elementary and was involved with sixth-grade outdoor education. The person who nominated him for the Class Acts column called him an excellent and motivated teacher.

A biography said he was married with two children and that another child was due that year. He earned his teaching credential from California State University, Stanislaus.

This story was originally published February 18, 2015 at 8:14 PM with the headline "Modesto teacher arrested on child pornography charge."