SAN ANTONIO — A 26-year-old San Antonio band teacher was arrested on Tuesday, having been accused of uploading child pornography to Snapchat.
According to arrest records, Mark Mallow, a teacher at Woodlake Hills Middle School in Judson Independent School District, uploaded four pornographic photos to Snapchat, as well as a video of a small boy.
Authorities began investigating in April, when Snapchat tipped them off to potentially exploitative images. Police were later able to connect the shared photos and video back to Mallow, including numerous images of a boy within the "Memories" section of the app as well.
There were also messages exchanged with another user, records state. One of them stated: "We should not have sent that material on here my dude. I'm worried."
Promotion of child pornography is a second-degree felony. If Mallow is convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and be on the hook for a fine of up to $10,000.
KENS 5 reached out to Judson ISD. Here's what they sent:
"This morning, we were notified by the Office of the Attorney General that an employee was detained at their home for possession of child pornography. The safety of our students is our top priority and we take situations like this very seriously. The employee was immediately placed on administrative leave and we are working diligently with the office of the Texas Attorney General, who is handling the case. School administration have notified families of this arrest. This is an open investigation and if there is more information to provide, we will share it as appropriate.
We can confirm that the employee that was placed on leave is Mark Mallow."
The affidavit doesn't address whether Mallow took the photos or video.
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