A top administrator at Hoover High School was arrested this week on suspicion of possessing child pornography and distributing lewd content to a minor, authorities announced Thursday.
Personnel with the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force on Wednesday arrested 41-year-old Charles Thomas Boyd De Freitas, an associate principal at the City Heights secondary school, according to the multi-agency investigative service.
The case stems from a report from a minor that De Freitas had sent and sought illicit images via a social media app, said San Diego police Sgt. Garrick Nugent, commander of the task force.
"Detectives executed a search warrant and seized multiple devices that will be analyzed for additional evidence related to child sexual abuse materials," Nugent said.
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De Freitas has worked for San Diego Unified School District for about 13 years, serving as a teacher at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts prior to his post in the administration of the 94-year-old El Cajon Boulevard high school named after U.S. President Herbert Hoover.
De Freitas, who is scheduled to be arraigned in the case next Thursday, was one of two San Diego youth educators arrested within hours of each other for alleged sex-related crimes involving minors.
On Wednesday, 40-year-old Stacy Michelle Walker, a teacher at Mount Carmel High School, was jailed on suspicion of carrying on a years-long sexual relationship with a person who attended the Rancho Peñasquitos campus, starting when the student was 15 years old, police said.
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'Afraid, very concerned': Hoover High parents, students react to associate principal's arrest
Rachael Galvez is one of several parents at Hoover High School who say they are shocked to hear about the associate principal's arrest.
“Afraid, very concerned," Galvez told NBC 7 on Thursday when asked about how she felt about the situation. "It's the faculty that is doing this. Are you serious? It's overwhelming. It's overwhelming as a parent ... It's sad because you would think that these are people that can be trusted, you know, and it's not that way."
Some students say they were shocked to hear about the allegations because they had just seen De Freitas on campus on Wednesday.
"Hearing about it is just kind of crazy," one senior said. "He speaks to people. He kind of runs the school."
In a letter to Hoover High families, principal Tracey Makings said De Freitas was arrested off campus and has been placed on leave. Makings also said the school is supporting investigators as needed and that counseling services are available to students.
