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DA: Newton Teacher Charged With Child Porn Took Secret Photos Of Students

NEWTON (CBS) - A Newton teacher charged with child pornography is now accused of taking secret photos of kids in the classroom.

Investigators say students had no idea David Ettlinger was taking their picture.

WBZ-TV's Kate Merrill was told the photos of his young students are creepy and upsetting. Many are of their body parts from low angles inside the school and even out on the playground.

WBZ-TV's Kate Merrill Reports

She didn't want to be identified, but a Newton mother says what happened at her daughter's school is not OK.

"Totally traumatized, you would not wish this event on any parent," said the mother.

The children involved in the child porn cases are not students at the Underwood School in Newton where Ettlinger taught second grade, but police have now found images of his students in his private collection.

Parents tell WBZ they had to identify their children in photos snapped secretly by Ettlinger in the classroom and on the playground.

"There were pictures taken at the school, and of course we found that very disturbing," says the mother. "A number of people were called in to identify the pictures."

Sources say the pictures were taken without the kids' knowledge and they are of various body parts.

One mother tells WBZ it looked as if a hidden camera snapped it from under the desk or the jungle gym.

District Attorney Gerry Leone confirms the pictures saying, they found, "Pictures that appeared to have been taken by the defendant of students at the school where the defendant worked."

The D.A. stresses the pictures are not pornographic and that the kids are fully clothed and he could not face criminal charges for them. At this point no student was assaulted.

Parents hope the new developments help to keep Ettlinger behind bars longer and many are working to make sure he faces the stiffest penalties possible.

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