Kids catch teacher taking explicit photos at school. He got 30 days

0 Tuesday, May 1, 2018 Edit this post

By Diana Lambert, Sacramento Bee
SACRAMENTO, Calif.

Scott MacMillian, a former Natomas Unified School District teacher, was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years probation Monday for using his cellphone to take photographs of a female student and an adult co-worker for sexual purposes.

He also will have to register as sex offender, which will prevent him from being within 500 feet of a school.

MacMillian, 44, was caught in December after students at Heron School in Natomas noticed the teacher was taking photos of girl's bodies and decided to keep an eye on him. The kids recorded him using his phone to take pictures of a 12-year-old under her desk. One of the students notified school authorities, who called the Sacramento Police Department.

The school serves children in kindergarten through eighth-grade.

Officers with the department's digital forensics unit found multiple images of what appeared to be the chest and genital areas of girls taken without their knowledge, according to the release.

A Heron School staff member also reported that MacMillian tried to take a photo or video under her skirt.

On Oct. 19 MacMillian pleaded no contest to charges of attempted possession of child pornography, attempted use of a concealed camera to take pictures of an adult for sexual purposes, as well as the use of a concealed camera to take pictures of a minor for sexual purposes.

Natomas Unified School District released this statement on Monday: "The sentencing of Scott MacMillan supports the actions we took when allegations were raised. Safety of our students and staff is our top priority, so we initially placed Mr. MacMillan on leave while we and law enforcement investigated. We later initiated termination proceedings and Mr. MacMillan subsequently resigned from NUSD. This situation does not represent our district's dedicated teaching staff, which works hard every day to make a difference in students' lives and prepare them for a bright future in college and career."

MacMillan was a finalist to be California's winner of the Presidential Award of Excellence, the nation's highest honor for science teachers in 2016, according to a school district newsletter published in September.