San Jose middle school coach arrested for child molestation, porn
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Willow Glen Middle School PE teacher and track and field coach, Clifford Pappadakis, turned himself into San Jose Police Wednesday.
He's charged with seven counts of annoying and molesting a child and one count of possessing child pornography.
An investigation into the coach began in September of 2017 when parents saw Pappadakis taking pictures of female students and became suspicious.
Parents alerted school staff who alerted police.
Pappadakis was put on administrative leave and the investigation led police to his home. He was formally dismissed from the school on December 31, 2017.
Several electronic devices were seized and forensically examined. Forensic investigators say they located numerous inappropriate images in Pappadakis' possession.
The school's principal sent a letter to parents and the community with news of the arrest:
Dear Willow Glen Middle School Community,
Today, a former employee of San José Unified who previously worked at Willow Glen Middle School was arrested. While we cannot comment on the specifics of an ongoing criminal matter, this case affirms San José Unified's commitment to the safety and well-being of our students.
As I informed our community in September, courageous students reported suspicious behavior by the former employee, and school and district administration acted immediately. The former employee was relieved of his duties, ordered away from our schools, and investigated. San José Unified takes all allegations of employee misconduct very seriously, and the individual's employment with the district was severed months ago.
The San José Police Department continued its investigation in coordination with other law enforcement agencies to determine what crimes may have been committed. Willow Glen Middle and San José Unified have been fully cooperating and will continue to do so as the criminal process moves forward.
If you have any information to share, please contact the San José Police Department at (408) 277-8900. If you wish to remain anonymous, please call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (408) 947-7867 or visit http://www.sjpd.org/crimestoppers.
We are grateful to our students for having the confidence to report suspicious activity, and we encourage everyone in our school community to do so. Our community is safer when we all look out for each other. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will do my best to respond to those concerns without compromising this criminal matter.
Regards,
Paul Slayton, Principal
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Brian Spears or Detective Mike O'Grady of the San Jose Police Department's ICAC/CED Unit at (408)537-1397.
