Ex-San Francisco kindergarten teacher sentenced to federal prison for possessing child porn

SAN FRANCISCO — A Bay Area man who worked as a substitute kindergarten teacher until he was arrested and charged with possessing child pornography has been sentenced to a year in federal prison, court records show.

Marc Nunez, 29, of San Francisco, was one of two teachers at the K-8 Cathedral School for Boys in San Francisco to be charged with child pornography-related crimes, the other being Nunez’s longtime romantic partner, Charles Barrett. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer sentenced Nunez May 1. He has until Aug. 1 to report to prison, court records show.

Barrett, a former music teacher at the Cathedral School and Alta Vista School, has pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography and is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

Both men were arrested after authorities elicited cooperation from a “known child porn distributor” who allegedly filmed himself molesting at least one teen boy, and is referred to in court records as “Confidential Witness 1” or “CW1.” The man allegedly traded videos and pictures of children, including a video CW1 recorded himself. All told, the large-scale investigation — including CW1, Nunez and Barrett, and other people who interacted with them — involves at least 70 victims, according to prosecution filings.

In court filings, Nunez’s lawyer wrote that he “struggled with poverty, a drug-addicted, violent father, bullying due to being openly gay, and gang violence in his neighborhoods” as a child. Nunez found steady employment at a liquor store after his arrest in this case, his attorney said. Barrett’s lawyer wrote in court papers that when he was transferred to Santa Rita Jail, he was harassed by other inmates and overheard law enforcement officers talking about “groomers” and using homophobic slurs.

Prosecutors say that Nunez was found in possession of five videos and 22 stills depicting child pornography, and made lewd comments about thinking teenage boys were sexually attractive.

In June 2020, federal agents went to Barrett and Nunez’s San Francisco home to serve a search warrant. Prosecutors allege Barrett refused to open the gate for the home, even after reviewing the warrant, then yelled at agents to stop when they forced it open. Afterward, he told them he had no idea where his phone was, though it turned out to be in his pocket, prosecutors say.