Teacher at Gurnee, Illinois elementary school arrested on child pornography charges
A north suburban elementary school teacher was ordered held on charges of possessing and sharing child pornography with pedophiles all over the world.
The Lake County State's Attorney has charged Todd R. Fowler, 47, with disseminating child pornography and possessing child pornography.
The judge at Friday's court hearing found him to be a danger to the community, given his position as a teacher and coach. During the hearing, it was learned that he also had images of students on his phone.
Fowler worked at Woodland Elementary School in the Gurnee area, where he has worked since 2019.
Spokespeople for the Lake County Sheriff's office said, "Sheriff's detectives believe, in addition to possessing and disseminating child pornography, that Fowler took photos posted to social media by area students and their parents and shared them with pedophiles from across the country."
Prosecutors said there were manipulated images in Fowler's phone of two 9-year-old female students who participated in cheerleading.
They say investigators are still reviewing thousands of images, but said Fowler admitted to police he shared a clip of a girl younger than 13 being sexually assaulted by an adult man in order to gain access to an online chat group to prove he was not a cop.
Fowler himself has a 10-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter and works as a gym teacher and coach.
Woodland Elementary wouldn't address how this impacts the track and field teams he coaches.
CBS News Chicago learned that a tip from the social media company Snapchat led law enforcement to Fowler, with the company sharing that a user may have been sharing and spreading child pornography.
School and district officials didn't answer questions on the topic but instead shared a letter they've sent to parents. It mentioned that Fowler is on administrative leave while they work through the proper police and administrative channels.
Prior to Woodland Elementary, he spent 5 years working as an elementary school teacher with the North Chicago School District. They said, "During his time with the district, there were no reports of any incidents or concerns related to his employment. Mr. Fowler voluntarily separated from the district at the conclusion of the 2019 school year."
"Our office will continue to support any victims or survivors of criminal sexual abuse or anyone who has been impacted by this offender," Lake County States Attorney Eric Reinhart said.
The Sheriff's office is advising parents to speak to their children about what happened and come forward if they believe they may be victims of Fowler.
