A former teacher at an elementary school in Glen Burnie is facing child pornography charges after his arrest Wednesday.
Gregory Alan Christy, 39, of the 7000 block of Timberfield Place in northeastern Anne Arundel County was charged with one count of distribution of child pornography and 10 counts of possessing it, according to police. Court records indicate that bail was set at $250,000, and he was released after posting bond.
Christy was a physical-education teacher at Rippling Woods Elementary School from 2008 until last spring.
"No victims have been identified as having resided within Anne Arundel County," Justin Mulcahy, a spokesman for Anne Arundel County police, said Thursday.
According to charging documents, on April 5, while Christy was out of town, his roommate of several months tipped police off to the images on Christy's personal computer. The roommate told police that Christy "always bragged about his pornography collection," the paperwork says.
The roommate went to look and found a video that included a girl who appeared to be about 10 years old, according to charging documents.
The search warrant that police obtained for the residence was sealed, giving the roommate time to move, the charging documents say. Investigators seized several computers from Christy's home.
Told of the investigation, school officials removed Christy from teaching duties and reassigned him to an administrative job away from children.
After he was charged Wednesday, he was suspended with pay, said Bob Mosier, a school system spokesman. Christy's salary is $66,357, Mosier said.
Christy could not be reached for comment Thursday. If he is convicted, it is expected that school system officials will move to fire him.
"Hundreds of images" of suspected child pornography were on Christy's computer, Mulcahy said. According to the charging documents, there were also 143 videos of suspected child pornography, some of which feature children who appear to be as young as 9.
Of them, 10 were known victims and are the basis for the charges. The children were identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children from other cases, police said. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did the forensic computer work, according to Mulcahy.
ICE told police that the "user downloaded and was sharing over 300 image, video and audio files," many of which depicted suspected child pornography, according to charging documents.
The investigation is continuing.
"We are certainly going to look into the possibility that there are more victims," Mulcahy said.
According to Mosier, Rippling Woods parents received an automated phone call Thursday morning telling them to expect a letter from the school's principal, Gwen Atkinson.
"It is important that you understand that we have no indication at this point that any of the charges against Mr. Christy involve conduct that took place on school property," says the letter, which is also on the school's website.
Christy has been a teacher in the county since 1996, and Rippling Woods is his fourth school. He worked at Old Mill Middle-South from 1996 to 1997; at Chesapeake Bay Middle from 1997 to 2002; then at J. Albert Adams Academy, an alternative middle school, through 2008.
He left the school system for about a year for a business position in between working at Chesapeake Bay Middle and J. Albert Adams, according to school system records.
The maximum penalty for a single conviction for promoting or distributing child pornography is 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine; for possession of child pornography, it's five years in prison and a $2,500 fine.