Former San Jose Christian school coach charged with selling child porn on Reddit

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA. – A former athletic trainer at a Christian school in San Jose has been indicted by federal prosecutors on allegations that he solicited nude photos from teenagers, paid them for the images and then split the proceeds he earned from selling them on Reddit.

Asst. U.S. Attorney Marissa Harris has charged Todd Baldwin, 44, with two counts of “enticing a minor” stemming from events between December 2022 and August 2023, based on the testimony of a 17-year-old boy at Valley Christian High , where Baldwin worked, and a 16-year-old boy at Live Oak High School in San Jose, along with other online evidence.

Baldwin no longer works at Valley Christian, where administrators had been cooperating with investigators last summer, when Baldwin was first arrested.

Baldwin does not have a registered attorney and has not yet responded to the criminal charges filed Oct. 10. He is being held without bail.

San Jose police have been investigating the case since August 2023 but are turning it over to the FBI.

In a federal complaint, FBI Special Agent Colleen Dettling detailed the allegations.

In October 2022, a 17-year-old boy who was formerly one of Baldwin’s teaching assistants told investigators that he wanted a job at the school. Baldwin said if he took pornographic videos and pictures of himself, he would sell those pictures on Reddit and share the proceeds, the criminal complaint says.

The boy sent Badwin pictures of himself masturbating and posing sexually via email and Snapchat, he told investigators.

Baldwin purchased a special ring light to improve the quality of the images and also provided the boy with underwear, which the teen wore during sports practice, according to the criminal complaint. Baldwin then sold the “soiled underwear online” and split the profits with the boy, Dettling wrote in her affidavit.

At least once, Baldwin himself took sexual photos of the teen at Valley Christian before paying the boy “several hundred dollars.”

Officers found several pornographic videos and images on his computer that the boy had sent to Baldwin. Police also searched Baldwin’s Venmo history and found that Baldwin had made payments to the teen at least 28 times between December 2022 and August 2023, totaling $4,265, the complaint said.

San Jose police also interviewed a 16-year-old boy at Live Oak High School in San Jose.

This boy knew the 17-year-old and wanted a similar arrangement. He contacted Baldwin via Snapchat and began sending Baldwin about 20 pictures two to three times a week for several weeks. According to the complaint, Baldwin paid him about $2,500.

San Jose police interviewed Baldwin in August 2023, where he “admitted to receiving nude images from several boys in exchange for money,” including the 17- and 16-year-old boys and two other students from Valley Christian, the complaint says.

No next court hearing was scheduled as of Friday.

Baldwin had worked for the school since 1998. At the start of the investigation he was placed on leave and is no longer employed at the school.

At the time, the school’s president, Clifford Daughtery, told the campus community that school leaders are “deeply disturbed by the actions outlined in these charges against a member of our facilities department, which are inconsistent with our Christian faith, values ​​and standards.” “