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Chanhassen H.S. Principal Charged With Possessing Child Porn

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Carver County attorney charged the principal of Chanhassen High School with seven different counts of possessing child pornography Thursday.

A graphic criminal complaint details 11 videos -- featuring girls between the ages of 11 to 13 -- that were found on Timothy Dorway's computer.

Dorway, wearing a khaki prison jumpsuit and handcuffs manacled to a belt on his waste, showed little emotion in court Thursday morning.

A prosecutor said he has admitted watching videos like these for ten years. He was caught this time because of a recent cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

The criminal complaint says Dorway told investigators that his "primary interest is in pornography involving 11- to 13-year-old girls."

Dorway says other individuals would send him links to the videos and that he would upload them to his own Dropbox account.

The complaint says he watched the videos on his own electronic devices and on a school computer on one occasion. The videos show young girls performing sex acts with each other and with adult men.

Mary Hall, whose two grandsons attend the school, is horrified by the latest developments.

"I'm disgusted. What can you say? Everybody's disgusted," Hall said. "I'm real sad because it's such a beautiful school."

Others with ties to the school told WCCO they remain shocked by the allegations. Dorway has been Chanhassen's principal since 2010. He served as principal at Rochester Mayo High School from 2006 to 2010, and at Owatonna High School from 2002 to 2005.

Prosecutor Angella Erickson said Dorway posed "a significant risk to public safety and is a flight risk," and asked for a $1 million bond.

The judge set the bond at $100,000, but Dorway's defense attorney said he did not expect his client to post the bond, suggesting Dorway will remain in Jail.

Defense Attorney John Conard brushed aside a prosecutor's suggestion that his client could harm himself.

"He's in custody. He's obviously not happy about that," Conard said. "We're working on it and … we'll try our case in court."

Dorway's adult daughter and ex-wife did not comment as they left court. Dorway and his ex-wife also have two younger teenage sons.

He has been living in Victoria with a girlfriend and her minor children. A prosecutor said investigators have determined those children were not in the videos.

And Chanhassen High School said again Thursday they have been told none of their students are in the videos.

Dorway remains on paid leave from the school, where he made $129,000 in 2014. He could face a maximum 65 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

His next court appearance is Dec. 23.

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