Newton teacher charged with keeping child porn

NEWTON, Mass. -- A Newton public school teacher was charged with two counts of possession of child pornography on Tuesday. The second grade teacher could face an additional charge in court on Wednesday.

David Ettlinger of Brighton was arraigned in Brighton District Court on Tuesday. Ettlinger was arrested Tuesday morning on child pornography charges by state and federal authorities. The charges stem from an alleged incident that happened in Suffolk County, not Middlesex County where the teacher currently works.

At 6 a.m. police executed a search warrant on his home and found hundreds of child pornography images on computers. Investigators also say they found a collection of young girl's underwear.

Ettlinger, a second grade teacher at the Underwood School in Newton, has been in the school district for about 12 years. Ettlinger, 34, used to work at the Pierce School. He is currently on paid administrative leave.

The Superintendent of Newton Public Schools, David Fleishman, held a news conference on Tuesday afternoon. He said this is a shock to the school community. Fleishman said the charges, he believes, stems from outside of Newton.

“No incidents reported to us. Obviously a couple of things are going on right now. The crisis team at Underwood is meeting right now in terms of figuring out how to support students. As you can imagine this is an incredibly upsetting incident,” said Fleishman. “So that’s what’s going on right now and obviously is anyone knows any information they should certainly report it to the Suffolk DA’s office or to the schools. But right now we have heard nothing. Right now the charges stem from not this county.”

Fleishman made it very clear on Tuesday that a background check was done on Ettlinger as early as last year and it came back clean.

Authorities said their investigation connects the teacher to a video where he is scene indecently touching a young teen.

“The defendant was asked about this video during an interview with police. He identified the girl as somebody he had babysat for,” said Prosecutor David Deakin.

Ettlinger is also accused of participating in a child exportation enterprise in Louisiana.

The court file says, “Investigators found numerous pieces of used underwear consistent with six to 8-year-old females in several drawers in the apartment.”

"The defendant acknowledged that the underwear was his. He said it does not belong to any of his family members, but he found the underwear left behind in bathrooms, pools, or changing rooms. Also that he purchased some of the underwear," said Deakin.

The suspect apparently told police that he had this collection after finding the items in public places.

"I was infuriated. I am infuriated and disgusted. And if these allegations are true, this individual should be prosecuted to the limits of the law," said Newton Mayor Setti Warren.

Ettlinger is being held on $10,000 bail.

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