CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Chesapeake parents and school leaders are reacting after police arrested Deep Creek Middle School teacher Jordan Palomares, 25, on Tuesday.
Palomares is charged with four felony counts of possession of child pornography, after investigators say he shared videos and images of children believed to be as young as four years old over Snapchat.
13News Now spoke with Brandi, a mother who chose not to share her last name. She says Palomares taught her daughter in multiple classes each day.
"He shook my hand at open house and he said, ‘We’re gonna have a great year,’ and that just keeps replaying in my head," Brandi said. "You don’t think about that type of stuff, especially in a school setting."
Even though Palomares is in custody, Brandi says she’s still uneasy knowing the suspect was in class with her daughter.
"I want [my kids] to be able to trust people, but the world we’re living in these days, you can’t," Brandi explained. "It’s sad, you know, being a school teacher, our kids should be able to trust you."
In a message to Deep Creek Middle School parents sent out Thursday, Chesapeake Public School superintendent Jared Cotton addressed conversation on social media about the situation and gave "some clarification about the recent timeline of events."
He said Chesapeake Public Schools was notified of the charges against Palomares on Tuesday afternoon, and that he had been arrested after law enforcement had executed a search warrant that morning.
"Upon receiving this information, the teacher was immediately placed on administrative leave. The October 1, 2024, notification was the first time law enforcement communicated with the school system about this matter," Cotton stated.
Court records outline how police were able to arrest Palomares. A criminal complaint says Snapchat flagged the images and reported them to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), who then alerted local law enforcement.
"We work with our partners in tech to allow us to analyze all the reports that are coming in," said Callan Walsh, an NCMEC child advocate and co-host of "America's Most Wanted."
"These reports often contain chat logs or images of child sexual abuse, so we want to make sure we’re analyzing every report that comes to us," Walsh said.
According to Walsh, NCMEC received 36 million tips through its CyberTipline in 2023.
"The partnership we have the public [internet service providers], us, sort of the conduit, and getting them out to law enforcement is how we’re able to get these apprehensions," Walsh explained.
Cotton also told the school community that all all CPS employees go through a "comprehensive" background check before being hired.
"This matter is part of an ongoing police investigation, and CPS is fully cooperating with law enforcement," he said.
Brandi said she appreciates the school division's communication following the incident, saying, "They’re gonna make sure our children are safe and sometimes you just don’t know."