Child Porn Charges Lead To Firing Of Day School Employee

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — An employee for St. John’s Parish Day School in Ellicott City has been fired after he was charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography, according to church officials.

Jackie Wang, 18, was hired as an assistant in the after-school program and summer camp at St. John's Parish Day School in 2024. The independent day school located next to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ellicott City provides education programming for children 3 years old through fifth grade.

Police found no indication the alleged misconduct involved any member of the St. John’s Parish Day School community, school officials said in a statement.

The school originally placed Wang on administrative leave and informed members of the St. John’s community of the arrest. After Wang was charged, the private school terminated his employment.

"Mr. Wang successfully completed all pre-employment background checks and had no prior allegations of misconduct against him. Parents have been provided resources for speaking with their children and encouraged to report any suspected misconduct to law enforcement," the school said.

According to charging documents, Howard County Police in November 2024 received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Material uploads were tracked to IP addresses owned by Verizon Fios, which led investigators to subpoena the company for subscriber information. A physical address was given to police, who determined that Wang lived in the home with two others, court documents said.

Howard County police officers executed a search warrant Tuesday at Wang's home. Police said Wang told detectives he had received child sex abuse material through the online platform Discord. During the police search, detectives found an external hard drive hidden under his mattress, The Baltimore Banner reported.

On that hard drive were files depicting child sexual abuse material, including at least five photos and five videos of male and female believed to be between the ages of 4 to 12, as well as a video depicting a boy age 15 to 17, according to charging documents. The videos included young boys undressed and performing sexual acts.

Wang was arrested at his home in Ellicott City and taken to the Howard County Central Booking Facility where he is being held without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 5 and doesn't have an attorney listed in online court records. Police said there are no indications that Wang recorded any of the child pornography found in his possession, reported The Baltimore Sun.

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