Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 10:13:47 -0400 From: Doug Reply-To: dellmore@gmu.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 To: pmsmith@nas.edu, bcox@gmu.edu, dmazan@elpress.com Subject: ASAP in the news of porn scare X-Url: http://www1.infi.net/capital/news/newsgen/newsgen361.html http://www1.infi.net/capital/news/newsgen/newsgen361.html -------------------------------------------------------- [Capital Online news] -------------------------------------------------------- ARCHIVES -------------------------------------------------------- High school teacher arrested on porn charges involving Internet -------------------------------------------------------- By: LESLIE GROSS Staff Writer -------------------------------------------------------- Federal postal authorities yesterday arrested an Arundel High School English teacher on child pornography charges involving the Internet, the computerized information network. A popular drama coach, Bruce Edward McDade, 47, was charged with possession of computerized pictures of minors engaging in sexual acts, according to charging documents. Acting yesterday on a search warrant obtained last week, federal authorities raided Mr. McDade's Prince George's County home and found stored in his computer pictures of "young males, clearly under the age of 12, engaging in either sexual intercourse, masturbation and other sexually explicit conduct," the documents said. Mr. McDade told investigators that he has been trading child pornography obtained through America Online, an Internet computer service, the documents said. The arrest follows a U.S. Customs Service investigation into electronic child pornography involved in interstate commerce. Further details of the investigation weren't available this morning, and it wasn't clear where Mr. McDade was being held. The Greenbelt man, who has taught at Arundel for 23 years, leads one of the county's best drama programs. "From what I've seen, he's a talented, dedicated drama teacher," said school board member Michael Pace, whose son had Mr. McDade for a drama coach. "He's developed the drama program at Arundel into one of the best in the state." News of the arrest stunned Arundel parents and students, including senior Elizabeth Bennett, who had the lead in several plays and worked closely with Mr. McDade. "I feel like I'm in a bad movie. This is not somebody you would expect this to happen to," said the 17-year-old Crofton teen-ager. "Mr. McDade did a lot for the kids at Arundel ... I wish that I could get in touch with him and tell him he didn't let any of us down and we still love him." Denise Anderson, who had Mr. McDade as a drama coach when she attended the school in the early 1980s, said she saw Mr. McDade just two weeks ago, and he still remembered her. "If it's actually true I can't be more shocked," she said. "He was one of the most caring teachers I have ever met. He was more involved with the students than (anyone)." Mr. McDade has directed and written several plays and helped to direct student-written plays. Despite the arrest, school business went on as usual today, with several planned activities occupying students, said Jane Doyle, a school system spokesman. "If you went through the halls, there was some conversation, you know, kids saying, 'Did you hear?' " she said. The school system will reassign Mr. McDade to the central office until the matter is fully investigated, Ms. Doyle said. Carolyn Roeding, head of Advocates for Children's Education and Safety, said the incident showed the need for criminal background checks on school employees. "Just to hear of something like that makes you get a knot in your throat," parent Vanessa Kriger said. The arrest came just one day after concerns were raised at a school board meeting about security against potentially inappropriate sites on the Internet that students could access through the school system's new multimillion-dollar computer network. But Ms. Doyle stressed that Mr. McDade was working on his home computer and not the school's. "Absolutely not (at school), at this point," she said. Authorities have told the school system that no students were involved, she said. Last spring Arundel High School was one of four county schools to pilot the new system, called the Advanced School Automation Project or ASAP. The school's English Department used the computers most frequently, school officials said. The arrest raised concerns among area parents, especially since all high school students now have access to the Internet in their schools. "I'm not happy about it," said Odenton parent Virginia Smith, whose daughter attends Arundel and uses the computers. "I signed a permission slip to use the Internet, and that they're not supposed to go into certain sections." A "firewall" is installed in the new computer system to block sites that could be harmful to students. Although the firewall is updated, students could gain access to some areas because new sites pop up everyday, school officials said at a school board meeting Wednesday night. Gary Mauler, an ASAP committee member and computer systems engineer, said keeping abreast of bad sites requires a staff person, and the small technology staff is "maxed out." "You're going to have some embarrassing situations coming up," he told the board. The firewall is updated quarterly, but perhaps should be updated monthly, said Robert C. Leib, director of business services. Teachers and school staff members make every effort to monitor use of the Internet, he said. Permission slips go home to let parents know their children could have Internet access, and teachers are trained about what's on the Internet and how important supervision is, Mr. Leib said. "(Students) are supervised there the entire time," he said. " There's a lab assistant and a teacher, and we try to do everything possible to prevent this from happening in one of our schools. Hopefully, it never will." -------------------------------------------------------- Published April 19,1996, in The Capital, Annapolis, Md. Copyright ) 1996 The Capital, Annapolis, Md. -------------------------------------------------------- [Image] -------------------------------------------------------- NEWS | BUSINESS | ENTERTAIN | SPORTS | HOTLINKS! | OPINION | MARKET | TOUR | LIFESTYLE