By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 26-year-old Calera Elementary School teacher is being held in the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $600,000 after he was arrested by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and charged with dozens of counts of possession of child pornography.

The SCSO arrested Wilton resident Daniel Prentice Donaldson on Aug. 15 and charged him with 40 felony counts of possession of child pornography.

Donaldson was taken into custody after SCSO investigators executed a search warrant at his Wilton home, according to the agency.

Shelby County Schools spokeswoman Cindy Warner confirmed Donaldson was a kindergarten teacher at Calera Elementary School, and has been working at the school since 2015. During his first two years with the school, he served as a paraprofessional under the guidance of a classroom teacher, and began his second school year as a kindergarten teacher last week.

District officials said he passed a criminal background check in 2014 and has had no previous incidents of misconduct.

He has been placed on administrative leave by the school system while the SCSO investigates the matter.

“School system officials first learned of the allegations from the Shelby County Sheriff’s office today and took immediate action to place Donaldson on leave,” Warner wrote. “The school district will fully cooperate with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office as it conducts a full investigation into this matter.”

“These charges are very serious in that they indicate alarming behavior by this teacher,” said Shelby County School Superintendent Randy Fuller.

As of about 3 p.m., charging documents had not yet been posted in Shelby County District Court.

If convicted, Donaldson could face up to 10 years in prison per count.