Actions

West Ada School District staff member arrested for sexual exploitation of a child

West Ada School District staff member arrested for sexual exploitation of a child
Posted at 5:13 PM, Dec 06, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-07 08:44:55-05

Parents in the West Ada School District were alerted Wednesday by district officials that a staff member has been arrested for sexual exploitation of a child.

In an e-mail, District spokesman Eric Exline stated, “It has come to our attention this afternoon that a staff member who is assigned to maintain equipment at three West Ada Schools … has been arrested for sexual exploitation of a child. This employee does not work with students, and the information we have is the allegations are not related to work. However, because the safety of our students is our first priority, we felt it was very important to let our parents know what we have learned this afternoon.”

The three West Ada schools were identified as Sawtooth Middle School, Hunter Elementary, and Prospect Elementary.

The school district did not release the person’s name; however, we have learned that 55-year-old Charles V. Gonzales was booked into the Canyon County Jail Wednesday on a charge of sexual exploitation of a child.

The West Ada School District website lists Gonzales as a technology specialist at Sawtooth Middle School. The West Ada School District reached out to us to clarify he has been placed on unpaid leave.

The arrest came as a result of an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit investigation.

According to a news release from Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, his investigators obtained a search warrant for Gonzales’s Nampa home and executed the warrant Wednesday morning.

The Nampa Police Department, Caldwell Police Department and the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office assisted in the investigation.

No further details were immediately available.