Child Porn Investigation Involving Former Newark School Administrator Still Ongoing

Three months after authorities searched a former Newark Unified administrator’s Clayton home in connection to a child pornography investigation, formal charges have yet to be filed against him, according to Walnut Creek police.

Steven Shields, 43, was arrested at his workplace on Nov. 2 in Vacaville on suspicion of possession of child pornography after officers searched his home on the 100 block of Mt. Everest Court in Clayton that same day.

Sgt. Jay Hill of the Walnut Creek Police Department, who is supervising the case, said in an email Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing but that he could not release any additional information.

Hill stated that computer forensics is a lengthy process "and it has not yet been completed."

In a , Walnut Creek Detective Sgt. Cashion said detectives were conducting a forensic investigation of Shields' personal computer and storage devices.

Shields was the chief business officer for the Newark Unified School District from 2008 to mid-2011. Newark Unified Superintendent Dave Marken has said Newark’s Board of Education decided last spring not to renew Shields' contract.

After leaving Newark, Shields joined the Vacaville Unified School District in July as the district’s assistant superintendent. As a result of his arrest, Vacaville Unified placed Shields on administrative leave pending the ongoing investigation. 

Cashion has said Walnut Creek police will take the case to the Contra Costa District Attorney's office once the investigation is complete and that authorities are investigating the case as a felony offense. Formal charges, however, will be decided by the DA's office, according to Cashion.

Shields was originally held at the Martinez Detention Facility on a $20,000 bail, but was released on bail within a week of his arrest.

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Concord Patch Editor Adalto Nascimento contributed to this report.