Caruthers Elem teacher, NorthPointe Church worker, arrested on child porn charges

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A child pornography investigation led from Switzerland to Fresno and ended with a Caruthers Elementary School teacher being arrested Wednesday. Gregory Michael Carr, 46, bailed out of jail a few hours after Fresno County sheriff's deputies arrested him.

Police in Switzerland were the first to notice someone in Fresno downloading explicit pictures of children. Investigators here in Fresno traced the download to Carr's computer and Wednesday, they arrested him.

Greg Carr has been closely involved with children for decades, mostly as a teacher at Caruthers Elementary for the last 20 years. But this month, sheriff's detectives say a darker involvement with kids was exposed by Swiss police.

"Homeland Security got a tip that Carr may have some child pornography on his computers," said Fresno County Sheriff's Office spokesman Tony Botti. "They notified our local agents."

In early August, investigators tracked illegal images to Carr's Northwest Fresno home. And when they went there in person, the seventh and eighth grade teacher let detectives examine two laptops and a tablet. A search warrant Action News uncovered shows that as they sat there, a detective found a series of images of a nude underage girl. They didn't arrest him on the spot, but they seized several electronic devices from the home and they warned Carr's employer.

"It's obviously very concerning," Botti said. "We take any matters such as this very seriously. That's why from the onset, once we learned what his occupation was, we notified Caruthers Unified immediately so they'd be aware of what's going on."

The school district issued a statement saying they put Carr on leave the same night.

Carr also worked part-time as a student ministries technical director at Northpointe Church. Pastor Steve Williams issued a statement saying church leadership was stunned and that Carr no longer works there either.

The investigation is still open, but at this point, investigators have no evidence of any local victims.

"We don't know right now exactly how long this behavior's been going on, so that's a concern, but I can say right now we don't have any information to show he's actively abusing any kids," Botti said.

We tried to track down Carr after he bailed out Wednesday, but couldn't get in touch with him by phone or at his house.

The district attorney's office has not yet filed a case against him, but they tell us they are reviewing it.

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BY PASTOR STEVE WILLIAMS - AUGUST 31, 2016

Statement from Pastor Steve Williams

Along with our community, we were stunned and deeply saddened to learn of the allegations involving Mr. Carr. While Mr. Carr previously worked for the Church in a part-time position, he is no longer in the Church's employ.

A foundational concern of all NorthPointe ministries is assuring the safety and wellbeing of all persons involved in our programs, especially the children and young people. We will continue the many precautionary procedures and protocols we've maintained for years, such as requiring all potential employees to undergo background checks and fingerprinting, and for those who work with our children and youth groups, to work in adult pairs.

We are in full agreement with the legal process pursuing this matter, and will cooperate freely and fully with it should that be found necessary.

It is core to our mission at NorthPointe to offer spiritual guidance and support to all involved, including the Carr family and those close to them. Our compassion, prayers, and spiritual guidance are extended to all persons affected by this difficult series of events.

Because this is also a personnel matter, we are not able to further discuss any issues other than the public statements made at this time.