CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — A Maryland law enforcement agency has identified a former Jefferson County Schools teacher as the subject of a search and seizure of child pornography.
The Federick County, Maryland Sheriff’s Department notified Jefferson County Schools on March 5 that Stephen Marsh was part of an ongoing investigation. He previously retired as a teacher and has served as a substitute teacher.
Upon this discovery, school district officials disabled Marsh’s badge to prevent him from entering any school building in Jefferson County, notified the West Virginia Department of Education and surrounding school systems, searched all of Marsh’s electronic records at school and immediately suspended him.
The school system intends to terminate Marsh.
“The call from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office is one that no educator or parent wants or expects to receive. Jefferson County Schools takes every available screening and monitoring precaution to ensure the safety of our students. Our moratorium on publicly announcing this information was aligned with the advisement from law enforcement to protect their capacity to prosecute.”
-Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Bondy Shay Gibson
The school system confirms their investigation, along with those from WVDE and the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, show no involvement with Jefferson County students. The alleged child pornography was confined to Marsh’s Frederick, Maryland residence.