An Oak Park man who was charged with possession of child pornography worked at a River Forest preschool for two days and was never alone with children, the school’s president said.
Richard Gertler, 44, was arrested June 4 after investigators found he was using a file sharing program to trade pornographic images, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced Thursday.
Paul Wolfman, president of West Suburban Temple Har Zion in River Forest, released a statement that Gertler worked briefly at the temple preschool.
“Mr. Gertler worked in the preschool for only two days,” a statement from Wolfman said. “During this time he did not have principal responsibility for any children, and he did not spend any unsupervised time alone with any children,” Wolfman added. Gertler has been removed from his job, Wolfman said.
Gertler ran a daycare program from his home for nine years and was an assistant baseball coach in Oak Park.
Berwyn police became aware he was making images of child pornography available through an online file-sharing program.
Police arrested Gertler at his Oak Park home after obtaining a search warrant. They reportedly recovered a laptop computer with more than 300 images of child pornography and an additional 25 printed photographs of naked children.
Gertler is listed online as the former owner of a childcare business called Daddy Daycare at between 2002 and 2011. According to an online resume, Daddy Daycare specialized in the care of special needs children and early childhood education. A woman who answered the phone at Gertler’s address said she had no comment on the arrest.
Wednesday Journal reported in 2011 that Gertler was an assistant baseball coach for an Oak Park Youth baseball team.
Gertler appeared in bond court June 5 at the Maywood Courthouse before Judge Carol Kipperman, who set bond at $250,000. His next court date is June 25.
This story has been updated to correct the location of West Suburban Temple Har Zion.
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