MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — A Klein Oak High School teacher is facing five possession of child pornography charges, according to Montgomery County records.
Sebastian Baraldi, 55, was arrested Wednesday morning at his home in The Woodlands by members of the Montgomery County Precinct 3 Constable's Office, Homeland Security Investigations and Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children. He was taken to the Montgomery County Jail where he was being held on a $250,000 bond.
According to court documents, when authorities showed up to serve the warrant on Wednesday morning, they said Baraldi handed them a letter from an attorney that was dated from August 2023, three days after Google received the initial tip that Baraldi was sharing images of child pornography online.
During the investigation, authorities said =they examined his hard drive and found a folder called "School Art Project" that contained several subfolders full of pornographic images of children.
A note was sent to parents and staff members at the high school saying that Baraldi "will not return to Klein Oak or any Klein ISD school until we learn the outcome of the ongoing investigation being conducted by law enforcement."
According to the letter, Klein ISD said they were notified of the situation on Wednesday morning. It went on to say the following.
"Law enforcement notified us that teacher Sebastian Baraldi was arrested at his home for felony charges of accessing inappropriate images of minors online. As soon as we were notified of this information, the district took immediate action, and he will not return to Klein Oak or any Klein ISD school until we learn the outcome of the ongoing investigation being conducted by law enforcement.
"We understand that this news is unsettling and are committed to transparently dealing with this situation. Our highest priority is the safety of our students, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to protect them. If the allegations prove true, we encourage the criminal justice system to take every appropriate action.
"Parents, please speak to your children about this matter, and please report to me or the Klein ISD police at the phone numbers below if there is information to share.
"Please contact Klein ISD police at (832) 249-4266 or Klein Oak at (832) 484-5101 with additional information or concerns.
"We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we navigate this challenging situation together."
Editor's note: Klein ISD's letter said the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office alerted them, but it was actually the Montgomery County Precinct 3 Constable's Office.