SAN JOSE — A teaching assistant at a local high school has been arrested on allegations he downloaded and shared child pornography from his South Bay home, police said.
Sherman Cater III, 38, of Cupertino, was arrested Jan. 28 on suspicion of possessing child sexual abuse material, according to San Jose police.
Cater began to fall under criminal suspicion in November, when the police department’s internet crimes against children task force found evidence that someone was downloading and distributing the illicit material from his home.
Police say on Jan. 27, detectives confirmed Cater as a suspect, and secured a search warrant warrant for his home. He was arrested the next day after police searched the residence and “located and seized devices that contained child sexual abuse material.”
Cater was identified as a teaching assistant at MacDonald High School in San Jose, and police said that the Santa Clara Unified School District has cooperated with the police investigation. The school district did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Anyone with information for investigators can call 408-277-4102 or email Detective Mark Minten at 4269@sanjoseca.gov. Tips can also be left with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at siliconvalleycrimestoppers.org.