Former Bellevue College instructor faces child pornography charge

Published 10:13 am Wednesday, February 10, 2010

(Originally posted Feb. 10, 8 a.m.)

A former Bellevue College instructor has been accused of viewing child pornography on his campus computer.

Michael Gelotte, a science instructor, was observed viewing the images in April while still employed at the college. He no longer works there.

Gelotte, 56, of Maple Valley, is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 18 in King County Superior Court.

According to charging documents, a pair of college computer technicians accidentally viewed Gelotte’s computer screen and saw the images. They notified their supervisor who, in turn, notified police.

Police later reviewed a portable drive attached to Gelotte’s computer and found 2,175 photos of children with ages ranging from 2 years old to their mid teens engaging in sexually explicit acts or poses.