San Jose high school teacher arrested on child porn possession charge

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SAN JOSE (KTVU) -- A special education teacher at Pioneer High School has been arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, police and school officials said Friday.

Police said John Hayden, 41, of San Jose, was taken into custody Thursday. He was taken to the Santa Clara County Jail although it was not immediately clear if he had posted bail.

The police department's Internet Crimes Against Children task force found child porn images at Hayden's home in San Jose while serving a search warrant on Thursday. Police said the materials were seized as evidence.

Hayden was located and arrested at Pioneer High School, officials said.

The teacher was removed from his classroom "right away" and placed on paid leave pending the outcome of an investigation by San Jose police, district spokesman Peter Allen said.

"The safety of our students, the safety of our campus is top priority," Allen said.

Hayden taught in the Sunnyvale School District before being hired in San Jose. At Pioneer, he taught resource at the school.

Detectives have not uncovered any instances of criminal behavior at Pioneer, and are now looking into any unreported incidents at his prior jobs.

Anyone with information about the case was asked to call the San Jose Police Department's sexual assaults unit at 408-537-1397.

Bay City News contributed to this report.