Marin film educator makes first court appearance in child-porn case

A film educator who taught youth in Marin County is facing child pornography charges.

John Morrison, 71, of San Francisco was set to be arraigned on Friday afternoon, but his hearing was continued to next Tuesday.

According to court records, Morrison is charged with one count of possession and three counts of distribution of child pornography.

According to San Francisco Police, investigators found more than 600 videos and images inside Morrison’s home in the Crocker Amazon neighborhood on Monday. Some images showed minors having sex with adults.

Morrison resigned as the Education Director for the California Film Institute based in San Rafael. He was with the organization for 18 years and taught film classes to students. He was also the Children’s Fest Manager for the Mill Valley Film Festival.

The Executive Director of CFI released a statement to KTVU that said the organization learned of the allegations on Thursday. Part of the statement reads:

“We take this issue extremely seriously and Mr. Morrison is no longer an employee at CFI. If we receive requests for information from law enforcement, we will of course, cooperate fully with the investigation.”

Morrison is also a board member for the Community Media Center of Marin. The executive director for that organization said the group is shocked, dismayed, and the allegations are uncharacteristic of Morrison.

According to Morrison’s LinkedIn Profile, he is a co-block captain for his Neighborhood Watch Program and he said he is part of the citizen’s advisory committee for the San Francisco Transportation Authority.

Morrison walked out of the courtroom Friday without addressing any reporters. He is not in custody because he was released after being arrested at his home on March 13.

Morrison is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment on March 21 where prosecutors said they would seek a high bail amount.