SAN JOSE — A former director of operations at Valley Christian High School is facing a possible sentence of life in federal prison after prosecutors here charged him with enticing two minors to film child pornography of themselves, court records show.
Todd Baldwin, 44, was arrested last year after a police investigation found that he’d solicited explicit videos from students at the school. But now, Baldwin’s legal problems have gotten even worse. The federal child enticement charge carries a minimum of 10 years in prison, and the criminal complaint accuses him of not only enticing two teen boys, but says authorities found evidence there are “at least three” additional victims.
Baldwin has not yet entered a plea, court records show.
The criminal complaint says that one of the alleged victims — known in court only as “Minor Boy 1” — told police Baldwin approached him in October 2022 with a proposal to “make money” by selling child pornography on Reddit and splitting the proceeds with the victims. Authorities say he bought a ring light to help produce the videos and that it didn’t end there. Baldwin allegedly gave the teen underwear to wear, then sold it to a child predator online after it had been “soiled.”
“Minor Boy 1 sent numerous pictures and videos every week for a number of weeks. Approximately 75% of them were sexually explicit,” the complaint says.
The second boy told authorities a similar account, alleging that he recorded videos for Baldwin for several weeks and was paid through Venmo. Police say Baldwin paid the two boys a total of $6,315 for the videos and that the victims were 16 and 17 at the time.
In a police interview, Baldwin allegedly confessed to receiving sexually explicit videos and selling them online, and told police his activity wasn’t limited to the two charged victims. He allegedly admitted to similar conduct with two other boys, but police say they uncovered electronic evidence suggesting there are three additional victims.
At the time of Baldwin’s arrest last year, the high school issued a statement stating officials were shocked at his alleged conduct and that he was placed on administrative leave, pending termination.
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Source: www.mercurynews.com