A former Durham teacher already jailed on a child molestation charge is now facing several new child molestation charges and more than 30 counts involving secret peeping, Durham police said Friday in a news release.
Nathan Stuart Elder, 44, of Durham is currently being held in the Maricopa County jail in Arizona on a child molestation charge filed in December 2018 in Phoenix, Durham police said in a news release.
Durham police said that a tip indicated that Elder was employed as a Durham Montessori school teacher and that the tipster was “concerned with his access to children.”
“During a search of Elder’s electronics, investigators uncovered 33 images that violate North Carolina’s secret peeping laws,” the Friday news release from Durham officials said.
Elder was also charged with seven counts of indecent liberties with a minor and seven counts of possession of images obtained in violation of secretly peeping while using a photographic device in Hillsborough, police said Friday.
Investigators said they identified pictures involving possible crimes in Wake and Orange counties along with those in Baldwin County, Alabama, Maricopa County, Arizona, and Alameda County, California
“Durham police investigators continue to work with local law enforcement agencies to contact the families of the children and pursue charges in those local jurisdictions,” the news release said.
Elder has since been terminated from the Durham school, according to AZ Central.
The management of the Montessori School released a statement Friday afternoon:
We learned this afternoon that criminal charges had been filed against Nathan Elder in North Carolina. Elder, a part-time employee at the Montessori School of Durham in the fall of 2018, was immediately terminated upon his arrest in Phoenix, Arizona on December 30 for child molestation involving a family member. None of the charges filed to date involve MSD children. However, since learning of Elder’s arrest in Arizona, we have worked closely with law enforcement authorities, communicated directly with our families, provided resources and information to parents about how to talk to their children, and undertaken a review of our current policies and procedures. The Montessori School of Durham prioritizes the safety and welfare of all of our students.
— Tammy Squires, Head of Montessori School of Durham
Anyone with information about the cases may contact DPD Inv. A.R. Bongarten at (919) 560-4440 ext. 29349 or CrimeStoppers at (919) 683-1200.