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Teacher Accused Of Making Child Porn: "A Good Neighbor," "Very Nice"
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 8, 2012
Modified Feb 8, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 8, 2012
Modified Feb 8, 2012
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Brooklyn parents are still reeling over the revelation that Taleek Brooks, a teacher's aide at PS 243 (The Weeksville School), had been arrested twice this month for not only having but also producing child pornography—possibly inside the school itself. As the FBI started interviewing people today Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott stopped by for the second time in as many days.
"We have 135,000 employees, and so with this particular person there had been no prior indication of child pornography," the chancellor said today. "If we had heard something about that, he would have been out of the system right away."
Walcott assured parents that the FBI would not interview children without parental consent and, if investigators suspect that any children in the school have been victimized they will contact parents directly. "This is a horrible case," he went on. "This is something that is totally despicable, but at the same time, people are trained in how to talk to students and children."
Parents and families meanwhile, seemed stunned and angered while students didn't seem to know what to think. For every furious parent ("I think it’s disgusting, really," said one, "It’s a shame. Our kids are not safe anymore in these schools. It’s really ridiculous," said another) there is another kid with sweet stories about Brooks to tell. "He very nice and he let you do stuff inside the gym," one student told CBS. "And he teaches people how to dance," another added.
And, because you can't have this kind of story without a surprised neighbor, here you go: "All I know is my man is a good neighbor," a 21-year-old neighbor of Brooks in Bed-Stuy said. "He never seemed like that type of person."
Brooks, who was out on a $100,000 bond after his first arrest for simply having child pornography, is now back in prison. His attorney has not responded to our request for comment.
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brooklyn
child pornography
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kiddie porn
ps 243
taleek brooks
teacher's aide
Garth Johnston
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