Tenino Elementary teacher arrested on child porn charges

SEATTLE — A teacher at Tenino Elementary School is in custody Thursday, charged with possession and receipt of child pornography.

James Donald Mobley, 46, who is also a private tutor, was arrested Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan said.

Mobley was a respected Boy Scouts scoutmaster in Tenino from 2004 until the day he was arrested, but officials at the organization said he passed a strict background check and was immediately put on the banned list of volunteers when he was arrested.

According to records filed in the case, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has been investigating an international company that distributed child pornography through mail and via download to personal computers.

In May 2011, foreign law enforcement executed a search of the business and seized hundreds of child pornography DVDs and business records.

An analysis of the records revealed that on multiple occasions between February 2009 and January 2011, Mobley had purchased what was suspected to be child pornography from the company.

In a search of Mobley’s home, law enforcement seized a computer hard drive and additional DVDs of child pornography, Durkan said.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Tenino Police Department are investigating the case.

Parents who are concerned about contact their children may have had with Mobley are asked to call Tenino Police at 360-264-2626.

KIRO