SAN FRANCISCO — In December 2020, a federal magistrate ordered the release of a substitute teacher named Marc Nunez, who was charged with trading child pornography videos with a suspected child molester, and ordered Nunez to stay at the home of his partner.
Now, Nunez’s partner, Charles Barrett, stands accused not only of receiving child pornography but traveling down to the Fresno area, where he allegedly sexually abused a 16-year-old boy. But the two aren’t just romantic partners; according to federal prosecutors, they were also colleagues at the same Bay Area school.
Nunez — who has since lost his job — worked as a substitute kindergarten teacher at the K-8 Cathedral School for Boys in San Francisco. In a recent court filing asking for Barrett to be detained, prosecutors said he worked at the same school with Nunez, as well as Alta Vista School, which is also in San Francisco.
In a statement to the media last year, the head of the school said Nunez had no victims there and that he was shocked by the allegations.
Barrett taught music at both schools. At an April 5 court hearing, less than a week after his arrest, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson ordered him released on an unsecured $75,000 bond. Nunez remains out of custody on a $50,000 unsecured bond, and his trial has tentatively been set for August.
Both men were arrested after authorities elicited cooperation from a “known child porn distributor” who allegedly filmed himself molesting at least one teen boy, and is referred to in court records as “Confidential Witness 1” or “CW1.” The man allegedly traded videos and pictures of children, including a video CW1 recorded himself.
All told, the large-scale investigation — including CW1, Nunez and Barrett, and other people who interacted them — involves at least 70 victims, according to prosecution filings.
In conversations with one boy — known in court records as Victim 68 — Barrett allegedly remarked “I’ve never been with a guy that young lol,” referrig to a 16-year-old, and commented enthusiastically after receiving a picture of the boy’s genitals. Prosecutors allege that in an interview, Victim 68 said Barrett traveled to the Fresno area to meet and sexually abuse him, despite knowing his age.
In June 2020, federal agents went to Barrett and Nunez’s San Francisco home to serve a search warrant. Prosecutors allege Barrett refused to open the gate for the home, even after reviewing the warrant, then yelled at agents to stop when they forced it open. Afterwards, he told them he had no idea where his phone was, though it turned out to be in his pocket, prosecutors say.
Last year, a federal judge denied a defense motion that sought to invalidate the warrant that led to the search and seizure of Nunez’s electronic devices. He is scheduled to go before a jury on Aug. 8, in San Francisco.
Source: www.mercurynews.com