San Jose Special Education worker Kirk McFarland was arrested Monday by Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies and charged with one felony count of possession of child pornography. Candice Nguyen reports.
San Jose Special Education worker Kirk McFarland was arrested Monday by Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies and charged with one felony count of possession of child pornography. He was arraigned in court Wednesday where a judge granted him supervised release.
According to the incident report, McFarland was arrested at Chandler Tripp School at 780 Thornton Way where he oversaw one non-verbal special needs child. He had been working at the school for about a month after previously working at Del Mar High School in San Jose. McFarland told deputies he’s worked with kids as a special education healthcare assistant – or para worker – for about 20 years.
Currently, McFarland is ordered to stay at least 300 yards away from Chandler Tripp School. He also cannot go to any location where minors gather.
On Monday, McFarland asked a colleague to help him print something, according to the incident report. When that colleague opened his flash drive she says she saw a picture of partially naked kids. That colleague reported what she saw to the Assistant Director at Chandler Tripp School who looked at the flash drive herself and “saw young naked children both boys and girls. Some were on the bed and blind folded. [She] did not recognize any of the children associated to the school.”
According to the report, the Assistant Director saw a photo of the special needs student who McFarland oversees at Chandler Tripp School, “but they weren’t explicit in anyway.”
The investigating deputy reported looked at the some of the photos as well and described them as including “young boys and girls around the age of 7-10. The boys often had blindfolds on, were shirtless, and bound with their hands behind their backs or against a wall. The young girls were often in revealing underwear or bikinis.”
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Investigators say McFarland admitted to them that he had been downloading explicit photos and sometimes watching videos for about three to five years. Deputies wrote McFarland said “looking at these videos when he felt tense or anger [helped] calm him down…McFarland stated he has hundreds of downloaded and screenshotted photos on his SD card that he keeps in a blue box under his bed.”
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The incident reports states McFarland “described his collection of photos as ‘obsessive’.”
Sheriff's detectives searched McFarland's home. In addition to electronic devices, officials found and seized a handgun next to McFarland's bed that was not registered to him. They also found a "prescription bottle ... that contained six rounds of .38 special ammunition."
NBC Bay Area reached out to McFarland’s public defender. In court, he said he had no comment.
As a Special Education worker, McFarland is employed by the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE). He's currently on administrative leave, according to a letter to families from SCCOE’s Interim County Superintendent Charles Hinman on March 5.
In a written media statement, Hinman said, “I want to commend our staff for their vigilance and commitment to keeping our schools safe…This staff member’s actions ensured an immediate response by the SCCOE team, allowing law enforcement to open an investigation and make the arrest. Based on our conversations with Santa Clara County Sheriff’s officials, there is no evidence at this time indicating any students were involved or compromised in any way.”
McFarland’s next court appearance is June 3.
