Montgomery County teacher arrested on child porn charges

BETHESDA, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - A Montgomery County physical education teacher was arrested Tuesday and charged with ten counts of possession of child pornography.

Police say they filed charges against Daemon Alan Dartouzos, of Germantown, a teacher at Ashburton Elementary School in Bethesda, after an extensive investigation.

Detectives say they do not believe the images of child pornography they found involved Montgomery County Public Schools students.

In a release obtained by FOX 5, the school district says Dartouzos has been an MCPS employee since 1991. In January 2018, he was placed on administrative leave as law enforcement officials executed a search warrant on Dartouzos' home.

MCPS says it has been "fully cooperating" with the Montgomery County Police Department, the FBI and the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office during this investigation.

In their release, they said the following:

"The alleged behavior by Mr. Dartouzos is extremely concerning. These charges represent a violation of our school's core values and the values of our Montgomery County community. We are committed to the well-being of all our students. A support team of school psychologists, counselors and pupil personnel workers from MCPS will join with our staff tomorrow, March 6, 2019, to provide counseling and support to students upon request."

FOX 5 spoke with parents about the arrest on Tuesday evening.

"I'm worried for my daughter and all the other kids that are at Ashburton that have to return to school with the feeling of insecurity and some fear about this place they thought was a safe place," said Barrie Krantz. "It's hard to feel any sense of comfort that, you know, there is definitively no MCPS students that were involved."

If you have information regarding Dartouzos or these incidents, contact police at 240-773-5400.