Vacaville Administrator Arrested For Possession of Child Pornography

WALNUT CREEK (CBS13) -- An assistant superintendent of Vacaville schools was arrested at the district offices on Wednesday for possession of child pornography.

Steven Shields, assistant superintendent of business and administrative services for the Vacaville Unified School District, was arrested Wednesday afternoon by the Walnut Creek Police Department and booked into the Contra Costa jail in Martinez on $20,000 bail.

According to Superintendent John Niederkorn, Shields acknowledged having child pornography on his personal laptop computer. The police department searched his business computers and electronic devices and found no evidence of child pornography, Niederkorn said.

"It gives the district as well as the profession a black eye," Niederkorn told CBS13's Derek Shore. "It's very disappointing."

He said there is no indication that Shields, 43, has had any inappropriate contact with any student or engaged in any inappropriate activity at work. The district office is located at 401 Nut Tree Road and is not on a school site.

"He had access to all of our school sites, but he does not have direct or constant contact with children," Niederkorn said.

That still didn't make some parents feel any better about the arrest.

"It doesn't make me feel good that someone like that is around children," one woman said.

"It does concern me because I want my children to be protected," another parent said.

Walnut Creek Police investigated Shields because he lives in Clayton. Shields, who also has a home in Ahwahnee southwest of Yosemite, was put on paid administrative leave pending the resolution of the charges and the district's own investigation, Niederkorn said.

Shields has only been with the Vacaville school district a few months. He started July 1, replacing Niederkorn, who was promoted to superintendent after John Aycock retired.

Shields came to the district from Newark Unified, where he was the chief business official since 2008. Prior to that, Shields was an assistant superintendent with the Merced City School District.