Editor-in-Chief
After being found in possession of more than 800 images and videos of child pornography on his laptop, Theodore Ishida, a former assistant professor here at CSU Bakersfield, was sentenced to 1,000 hours of community service.
Ishida, 64, was arrested at his home on Dec. 14, 2016. It was revealed at the time of his arrest that Ishida downloaded the child pornography onto his laptop from a CSUB computer.
He was placed on paid administrative leave on Jan. 13, 2017, through March 15 of this year. During which, he did not have access to his office or campus. He retired the following day and is no longer affiliated with the university, according to Chief of Staff to the President, Michael Lukens.
Prior to being placed on leave, Ishida was earning $76,536 per academic year as an assistant professor in the department of psychology. He was hired by the university in 1988.
According to the Bakersfield Californian, Ishida pleaded no contest to the charges and must now register as a sex offender.
Ishida is also on probation for three years, during which he is not allowed to possess pornography, associate with minors or delete his computer history, as he now must permit law enforcement to search his electronic devices.
As The Runner previously reported, Ishida contacted Bakersfield Police after his home was burglarized on Aug. 7, 2017. He reported someone had forced entry into his home and stole some personal belongings, including his laptop.
Four months after that, Ishida once again called the police to notify them of a threat of extortion against him.
The man who broke into Ishida’s home, Francois Gariepy, found the images of child pornography on Ishida’s laptop and was demanding money from Ishida for the laptop or he would go to the police.
The extortion threat was traced through an email sent to Ishida from the email address of [email protected] and called himself “Your Wayout,” according to documents obtained by the Bakersfield Californian.
In August, Gariepy pleaded no contest to attempted extortion, second-degree burglary and possession of a stolen vessel. He is serving eight years in prison.
