Stockton teacher accused of having more than 65K images of child sexual abuse material, CHP says
STOCKTON, Calif. —
A Stockton high school culinary arts teacher is accused of having more than 65,000 images of child sexual abuse material, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Nickolas Turpen-Arends, 40, was booked into the San Joaquin County Jail on charges related to possession of child sexual abuse material, CHP said. He has since been released on $20,000 bail with a promise to appear in court.
“Our computer crimes investigators are essential to protecting innocent victims and ensuring offenders are held accountable,” CHP Capt. Melissa Kittell said in a news release. “I am proud of the tireless effort and dedication invested in this investigation, which ultimately resulted in the suspect’s identification and arrest.”
The agency said it had been investigating an IP address for months before arresting Turpen-Arends at his Stockton home. A photo shared by CHP shows part of the response in taking Turpen-Arends into custody involved CHP’s Special Weapons and Tactics team.
California Highway Patrol
CHP said a preliminary forensic examination of a desktop computer led investigators to find child sexual abuse material.
Turpen-Arends was a culinary arts teacher for Lincoln High School, CHP said. School administrators are aware and cooperating with the investigation.
The Lincoln Unified School District confirmed Turpen-Arends is on leave and was in his second year of employment at the high school.
“To date, the District is not aware of any allegation and has no information suggesting that any District student is involved,” Lincoln Unified said. “Since this is a confidential personnel matter and the investigation is ongoing, the District is unable to comment further at this time.”
KCRA 3 spoke with a Lincoln High School graduate who said she used to go to Turpen-Arends’ classroom every day for lunch with her girlfriend and other students. She said everyone referred to him as ‘Chef T.’
She said she was shocked to hear about the arrest.
“He was always really friendly. I feel like this just kind of came out of left field,” Ava Koster said. “A lot of students were very drawn to him, I feel, and he was very open to talking with them. I don’t know how much that tells you about him or what it doesn’t, but it’s really alarming that he was able to get into the school, you know?”
CHP said investigators are now conducting a more thorough search through the computer. The agency is asking anyone with information related to this case to call 1-800-835-5247.
KCRA 3 also confirmed that Turpen-Arends served in the U.S. Navy from 2005 through his retirement on Jan. 3, 2022. He was a chief culinary specialist, records showed.
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