An Anchorage man who worked at Huffman Elementary School faces child pornography charges.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Daniel Alan Brown Monday on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography. The Anchorage School District said Brown worked at Huffman, located at 12000 Lorraine St., as a teaching assistant in the Extended Resource Classroom.
Principal Darrell Vincek sent a letter home with students Tuesday alerting parents that an employee “has been charged with illegal activity by law enforcement.”
“I understand this may cause some concern among parents and staff,” Vincek writes in the letter to parents. “I share your concern and want to assure you that our school staff takes your child’s personal safety very seriously.”
Every employee in the district goes through a background check before being hired, says ASD spokesperson Heidi Embley.
“Generally, when employees are arrested, there are no previous indications or nothing on their record to indicate there was any wrongdoing prior to their hire,” said Embley.
On Wednesday afternoon, Matthew Millar was at the elementary school to pick up his nephew. He said it’s disheartening to know a teacher could violate the students’ trust.
“Just kind of shocked as a community,” said Millar. “Even as an uncle, to think my nephew was around someone that had those skeletons in their closet in a sense.”
Embley said, so far, the FBI’s investigation shows that no Huffman students were involved in any incidents nor does it show that there was any child pornography on Brown’s school computer.
The FBI says the case has been handed over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.