FARMINGDALE – A member of the local school board who was also a crossing guard was charged with possession of child pornography, police said.
William L. Shaffer, 47, was charged with one count of third-degree Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials.
The district released a statement noting that as a crossing guard, he was employed by the town. The statement continued to say:
“Today we were advised of the arrest of one of the Farmingdale Board of Education board members. We want to assure our parents, students, staff and our school community that we are working very closely with law enforcement to guarantee that the safety and security of our students remains the highest priority. Although the individual is not an employee of the school district, measures have been taken so that the individual will not have any access to the school premises while charges are pending. We trust the judicial process to address this matter appropriately and promptly and we hope to return to focusing on our primary mission of serving children.”
It appears as though Shaffer’s name was already removed from the Board of Education webpage by the time the charges became public. His name is listed as a member in the roll call in the minutes of recent meetings. He attended the September 18 meeting but was absent from the October 30 meeting. The next board of education meeting is December 11.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office began the investigation in September of this year. As with many of these cases, it began when they received a tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. They learned that Shaffer had viewed and was in possession of these child sexual abuse materials. He was arrested the morning of December 6 without incident by members of the MCPO High Tech Bureau and Search Warrant Execution Team.
Shaffer had won re-election in November. He was endorsed by the New Jersey Project, a group that fights against the new sex education curriculum.
Anyone with further information about this matter is being asked to contact Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Anthony Lacher at 800-533-7443.
Charges are merely accusations until proven in a court of law.
