The teacher at an all-girls Catholic school arrested this week on charges related to child sexual abuse material was found with files depicting girls “similar in age to the high school students under [his] authority,” according to the charging documents.
Donald Kirk Marchand III, 70, was arrested Sept. 15 at his home in College Park. He waived a bond review hearing and will be held in jail without bond, according to the Prince George’s County Office of the State’s Attorney.
Maryland State Police received a tip from Google on Sept. 2 that someone had uploaded suspected child sexual abuse materials.
On Sept. 9, State Trooper Zachary Crowe sent a warrant to the tech company for electronic content associated with the account in question. Google provided those materials on the same day.
Among the 655 files, the trooper found electronic novels containing details of the sexual assault of juvenile girls, “with several titles indicating the term ‘school girl’ and ‘principal,’” according to charging documents.
On Sept. 14, Crowe applied for an arrest warrant for Marchand; officers executed the warrant the following day.
Leading up to the arrest, Crowe wrote in charging documents, he learned through Marchand’s Facebook page that the teacher had recently accepted a job at Elizabeth Seton High School, an all-girls school. The trooper noted in the documents that “females depicted in the majority of the child pornography files contained within the reported Google account are similar in age to the high school students under Marchand’s authority at Elizabeth Seton.”
Maryland State Police spokesperson Elena Russo said there is no standard for the amount of time it takes to complete this sort of investigation.
“Every incident of this type of crime or criminal behavior has different circumstances,” she said. “I don’t know what the tip indicated to investigators, but they certainly have to investigate every tip as it comes in and make sure that it’s legitimate. That all takes time.”
Crowe did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.
On the day of Marchand’s arrest, county, state and federal agents searched his home and escorted him to the basement, where he agreed to speak with investigators, charging documents said.
Investigators allegedly found hard copies of novels similar to the electronic versions found on the Google account, along with a hard drive and CD that allegedly contained additional files depicting girls as young as 4. “Data associated with these files indicate they have been in Marchand’s possession for over a decade,” the documents say.
Marchand allegedly told police he downloaded the files years ago but “just never got rid of them,” according to charging documents.
“You found what you found,” he allegedly told police. “And I’m responsible.”
Marchand agreed to take a polygraph test “to rule out any hands on sexual abuse of children,” according to charging documents, which do not provide the results of the test.
A LinkedIn profile matching Marchand’s name and photo indicate he previously taught at other schools in Maryland, including St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Laurel, Mercy High School in Baltimore and Seton Keough High School, another all-girls Catholic school that shuttered in 2016.
Marchand was fired from Elizabeth Seton High School after the school learned of the charges. The school’s president could not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.
Ashley Clarke contributed reporting.
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