Russian Pornography Probe
Leads to School Librarian
A suspended Hartford, Connecticut, school librarian is among the suspects in an international investigation of Russian child pornography. James M. Chitty, 41, was suspended with pay February 27 from the M. D. Fox Elementary School after a federal prosecutor notified school officials he was under suspicion for possession of child pornography, the Hartford Courant reported March 28.
U.S. Customs agents searched Chitty’s Stonington apartment in February while investigating buyers of sex videos from Blue Orchid, a Moscow-based Internet site. Chitty has not been charged, but is allegedly among at least 15 U.S. customers of $200 videotapes showing underage Russian boys involved in sex acts. An affidavit shows Chitty made a wire purchase from the Web site for a pornographic video disguised as a National Geographic film. Whether any Blue Orchid products were found among the 500 videos and CD-ROMs agents took from the suspect’s home has not been revealed.
School officials reported no concerns about Chitty’s behavior on the job and indicated that background and fingerprint checks before he was hired in 1998 revealed nothing suspicious. Personnel Director Robert Stacy said Chitty’s record of jobs at seven schools in four states since 1984 “would raise some concern,” but added that school librarians are hard to find.
Posted April 2, 2001.
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