Nudes on teachers computer cost him By Blake Herzog, Tribune March 28, 2006
A former Apache Junction Unified School District teacher has had his teaching certification suspended for a year for viewing nude photos on a school computer.
The Arizona State Board of Education on Monday voted 8-1 to double the length of John Knox Jr.s suspension beyond the recommendation of the states Professional Practices Advisory Committee.
The board toughened the penalty after being told, among other things, that Knox had accessed the Web site in question up to 30 times a day.
How do you teach when youre doing that? board member Karen Nicodemas asked.
Knox, who was a substitute teacher in the Scottsdale Unified School District until a month ago, said after the vote that he didnt agree with the decision, which affects both his secondary- and substituteteaching certificates. I wasnt too happy about it because I feel it was an honest mistake, he said.
Knox resigned from his Apache Junction job in January 2005, after an investigation was launched when a sixth-grader reported seeing a small picture of a nude woman on Knoxs computer, according to state documents.
The districts investigation found a large quantity of nude and seminude female images on Knoxs computer, according to the state. He resigned before the district could take any disciplinary action.
Knox said he had assumed he could look at a Web site where photographers posted pictures of all kinds of subjects without getting in trouble because the districts filters werent blocking it.
I now feel that I was wrong in not letting the administration know about this Web site because it was accessible to anyone, teachers and students, he said.
Knox said he never visited the site during school hours, and didnt realize when he downloaded one image from the site that he was getting an entire portfolio, including images he never viewed.
The state investigation was triggered by a complaint filed against Knoxs teaching credentials in November.
Contact Blake Herzog by email, or phone (480) 898-6816