SAN JOSE — A former Valley Christian High School manager accused of paying students to create child pornography was arraigned in federal court Tuesday, a day after a reported victim sued the school for not protecting him despite glaring signs of defendant’s illicit conduct.
Todd Baldwin, 44, who now lives in Washington state, appeared in a San Jose courtroom to answer to two counts each of enticing a minor and receiving child pornography, corresponding to the accusations of two underage victims. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Baldwin pleaded not guilty and his next court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 4; he was allowed to remain out of jail custody under the supervision of a relative, according to court records. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the related lawsuit, filed by the San Jose-based law firm Cerri, Boskovich and Allard, a reported victim in the criminal case alleges he was 17 years old when he was goaded into sending scores of sexually explicit photos and videos to Baldwin between December 2022 and August 2023. Detectives reported finding evidence showing Baldwin paid the boy more than $4,200 over that span.
The plaintiff contends in his legal filing that school administrators had reason to believe Baldwin was engaging in suspicious activity. He asserts that Baldwin convinced him to leave his classes and go to his office under the guise of working as Baldwin’s teaching assistant despite the fact that as operations manager, his job did not involve any student-facing duties.
“This was a huge red flag,” plaintiff attorney Lauren Cerri said. “This kid had a major attendance problem and would frequently be observed by staff in Baldwin’s office instead of in class. No one said or did a thing about it.”
Baldwin is also accused of furnishing students alcohol and marijuana in his office, and the lawsuit alleges the school failed to properly respond to “excessive noise (coming) from his office while plaintiff and other male students were inside including during instructional hours when they should have been in class.”
In August 2023, the lawsuit states, rumors started spreading about Baldwin’s behavior, which coincided with the launch of the San Jose police investigation.
In a statement to this news organization, Clifford Daugherty, president of Valley Christian Schools, emphasized that the school alerted police.
“While we have not seen the lawsuit and cannot speak to any specific allegations, when we were first made aware of this matter in August 2023, we acted swiftly, terminating the individual, and fully cooperated with law enforcement and we have continued to cooperate with authorities as this process unfolds,” Daugherty said.
Baldwin was arrested that same month, on allegations he solicited sexually explicit videos from several Valley Christian students. According to police, he agreed to an interview with detectives in which he “admitted to receiving nude images and masturbation videos from multiple minor boys in exchange for money,” according to a federal complaint outlining the criminal case.
While the criminal charges involve two accusers, the police investigation cited evidence indicating Baldwin solicited at least three other minors.
The second reported victim listed in the criminal charges was 16 at the time he was solicited by Baldwin and attended a different South Bay high school, according to the complaint. He was allegedly paid around $2,500 in exchange for sending sexually explicit content of himself to Baldwin.
Investigators described a scheme in which Baldwin approached the reported victims with a proposal of making and selling child porn online on Reddit and splitting the revenue. He is also accused of buying the lawsuit plaintiff a ring light “to improve the quality of the images and videos produced,” and giving the same boy specific underwear to wear during workouts expressly so Baldwin could later sell the “soiled” clothing.
Cerri said the child exploitation could have been stopped sooner had Valley Christian staff identified what she described as clear grooming behavior and other firable acts. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and legal fees.
“Valley Christian betrayed this student and his parents’ trust,” Cerri said. “The lack of proper oversight created an environment where such abuse could occur on campus undetected.”