A man faces charges of having child pornography on his work computer and that man is the superintendent and elementary school principal for a northern Michigan school district.
Dan Byrne, a superintendent, is charged with possession of child sexually abusive material
ROGER CITY -- A Presque Isle county school official was charged Monday for possession of child pornography.
For just under two years, Dan Byrne doubled as superintendent and elementary principal in the Rogers City School District. However, on Monday rather than being in school, Byrne was before a judge in 89th District Court.
Byrne is facing felony charges including one count of possession of child sexually abusive material - a four year felony. The 37-year-old also faces one count of using a computer to commit a crime - a seven year felony. Byrne was arrested last week after investigators say the images were found on his district owned computer at school.
"We have gone through a very, very, very emotional time, ranging from anger, disgust, disbelief," said Mike Marx, president of the Rogers City school board.
While Byrne is no longer associated with the school district, the Rogers City school board met Monday night to discuss the future of the positions he held. The board elected to name Don Schaedig as interim superintendent. Schaedig worked for the school district for 35 years as Chief Financial Officer.
While Marx says he has received several phone calls from concerned parents, at Monday night's meeting he re-iterated that all students are safe. Marx says that all school computers that students have access to are equipped with heavy internet filters.
In addition, 7&4 News has learned that the photos in question are not of any Rogers City school students. Meantime, Marx says the school district is focused on getting things back to normal.
"I would like to thank you people, professionals of the district for your understanding and your commitment to educating our kids," Marx said. "Without you this would be almost impossible." Byrne is out of jail on a $10,000 bond. A preliminary exam has been scheduled for December 2.
