Local Substitute Teacher Arrested, Accused Of Child Porn Charges

A Contra Costa County substitute teacher and former school administrator with a long résumé had child porn charges filed against him today, according to the county district attorney’s office.

The charges come after 60-year-old David Prashker was arrested Thursday in his Lafayette residence in the 3600 block of Bickerstaff Road, prosecutors said. He was charged today with distribution and possession of child pornography, as well as attempting to destroy evidence for allegedly tossing a laptop containing child porn from a second-floor bedroom into his backyard during his arrest.

Prashker was a substitute teacher at two private schools in the central area of the county. There is no evidence currently that his alleged crimes involved students at the schools, prosecutors said.

Prashker has also held other teacher and school administrator posts over an about 30-year span, in settings covering every age from nursery to adults, according to his online biography. He has worked in places such as London and Miami.

Among many other credentials, Prashker has authored 30 books, including contemporary and historical novels, short stories, poetry, songs, plays and scholarly works, according to his biography. In 2008, Prashker reportedly resigned from a director post at a private Jewish school in Toronto over controversy involving sexually explicit poetry he wrote and posted online.

He continued to be a Jewish community leader and fundraiser and has apparently spent the past few years working to build “BibleNet,” an educational online encyclopedia regarding the Jewish and Christian scriptures.

Prashker became the target of an investigation by the Contra Costa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which operates as a collective of nearly all of the county’s police departments as well as the sheriff’s office and other county agencies.

The task force’s investigation resulted in a search warrant being served Thursday at Prashker’s house and his arrest. He was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility and is being held on $205,000 bail. Prashker will make his first court appearance Tuesday morning in Martinez.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 44 months in prison and fines, prosecutors said.

--Bay City News