The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) arrested longtime Sacramento, California, schoolteacher Mark Sirard on November 4 for allegedly possessing child sexual abuse material, according to detectives.
Sirard was arrested by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and the Internet Crimes Against Children/Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations.
“This case stemmed from information from the authorities in the United Kingdom and other law enforcement authorities overseas,” the SCSO wrote on social media platform X.
Sirard, 52, was held in the Sacramento County Main Jail on a $50,000 bail. He posted bond after being booked and was released from custody.
“This is an active and ongoing criminal investigation,” the SCSO stated. “Detectives are concerned there may be unreported victims.”
It requested any information from the community.
Sirard recently taught seventh and eighth grade English Language Arts at Leonardo Da Vinci K-8 School, according to a Sacramento City Unified School District statement obtained by KCRA Sacramento.
Sirard, who has been with the district since 1999, took students from the Shakespeare Club on multiday field trips to the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, during his teaching career. He has not visited any district sites since May and is on administrative leave.
“The news is deeply disturbing because our top priority as a school district is to protect our students and staff from harm on our school campuses,” the district said in a statement, according to KCRA Sacramento. “As we continue to cooperate with law enforcement, we remain fully committed to taking every necessary step to protect and support our students.”
The Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Task Force/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force has been conducting long-term proactive investigations into individuals who use the internet to distribute child sexual abuse material, also known as child pornography.
The Epoch Times contacted the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and the Sacramento City Unified School District for comment, but received no response by publication time.
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