The Seattle Police Department said on Friday, June 3, 2016 that it had arrested a longtime substitute teacher and daycare worker in the Puget Sound area, including in the Snoqualmie Valley School District, after detectives” found the man had downloaded hours of video showing children being sexually abused.”
The Snoqualmie Valley School District released a statement Friday afternoon via email saying the King County Prosecutor’s Office notified them on June 2nd that Sean C. Clark was arrested for “allegedly dealing and possessing child pornography.”
SVSD state that Clark was formally charged Friday, June 3rd.
Superintendent Joel Aune was quoted in the statement:
“This is a very serious and disturbing allegation. The District shares the concerns that parents understandably may have regarding this individual. While there has been no indication that any of our students were put in harm’s way, we encourage parents to contact the police if they have any concerns after speaking with their children.”
The Seattle Police Department stated that its Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force started investigating 46-year old Clark earlier this year “after following a trail of data on a file-sharing service.”
SPD Blotter went on to state that “detectives discovered a two-hour video of child sexual abuse, posted online as ‘Best of 2010-2011 Compilation Volume 1,’ was being downloaded and shared on a computer in Snoqualmie, Washington.”
The Seattle Police Department confirmed that Clark’s arrest was related to the search warrant executed for a Snoqualmie home early on Thursday, June 2nd in the Heights neighborhood.
According to the Snoqualmie Valley School District, it is among at least four school districts that received notification of Clark’s arrest, as he had worked in many different schools. The Seattle Police Department said since 2004 he worked in childcare in Issaquah and subbed in Tahoma, Kent and Enumclaw, but that SVSD was his most recent job.
SVSD stated that their records show Clark substituted on 16 separate occasions this year at Cascade View, North Bend, Opstad, and Snoqualmie elementary schools.
SVSD said in response to this news, action was immediately taken to prevent Clark from ever substituting in the district again. SVSD stated it is also working closely with law enforcement.
Seattle PD Police Blotter said detectives have not found any evidence he had any sexual contact with children under his care. They added that during a police interview, Clark “alluded to incidents of sexual misconduct at a school in California and a daycare in Issaquah.”
About Seattle Police Dept. Crimes Against Children Task Force
The Seattle Police Department is the lead Agency for the Washington State Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The task force is made up of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies working to identify, arrest and convict those individuals who victimize children by way of the Internet. Crimes investigated by the Unit include:
- Communication with a minor for immoral purposes
- Sexual exploitation of a minor
- Possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct
- Dealing in depictions of minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Search warrant issued in Heights neighborhood of Snoqualmie Ridge, 6/2/16. Photo: Jason Pina
