In the wake of an arrest involving child sexual abuse materials, Shasta County Schools officials want to assure students and their parents that safety is their highest priority. Former school employee 39-year-old Fred Charles Gardner the Third was arrested this week after a student at an after school program at the Redding STEAM Academy said he saw sexualized photos of children on Gardner’s cell phone. County Superintendent Mike Freeman says Gardner was removed from the campus immediately and his cell phone was seized by police. Protocols and procedures are being reviewed to further protect students from unsafe situations. Freeman says administrators are grateful to the student who had the courage to say something.
-Steve Gibson