School worker faces child porn charge

LITCHFIELD – A school district speech therapist has been charged with possessing child pornography, as part of an ongoing FBI investigation, court records show.

John McGarry was arrested Thursday, and has been placed on administrative leave, Litchfield School Superintendent Elaine Cutler said Friday.

The school district is cooperating with the FBI in its investigation, Cutler said.

“We’re taking it very seriously,” she said. Cutler wouldn’t comment when asked if any students were harmed or placed in danger, citing an ongoing investigation.

Cutler said she also couldn’t comment on any other case specifics, including whether the suspected pornography involved a Litchfield student.

Documentation

All parents of students who see McGarry for speech therapy have been notified personally, Cutler said. A letter will be sent home to all parents Friday, she said.

“Please know that the safety of our students is our most important priority,” Cutler wrote in the letter. “We are working closely with law enforcement with this matter. Meanwhile, it enforcement with this matter. Meanwhile, it is important to remember that all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.”

McGarry has worked with the district since 2003.

On Thursday, federal prosecutors filed a single possession of child pornography charge in U.S. District Court, alleging that McGarry had child porn on Dec. 26, 2008, somewhere in Rockingham County.

McGarry was released on his own recognizance after his first appearance in federal court that day.

Magistrate Judge James Muirhead agreed to seal an affidavit filed in support of the charge, because prosecutors said the investigation is still open and ongoing.

The same prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen Fitzgibbon, also filed a child pornography charge against another man, Patrick Prince, age and address unavailable, on Wednesday. Fitzgibbon could not be reached Friday afternoon.