A longtime Fresno Unified School District teacher hanged himself Tuesday in the Fresno County Jail, not long after he was arrested at school on suspicion of child pornography, officials said.
James Victor Healy, 65, of Fresno was arrested at J.E. Young High School, a year-round independent-study campus, about 11 a.m. Tuesday and arrived at the Fresno County Jail about 11:17 a.m., according to a jail document.
Fresno County Sheriff's Office spokesman Chris Curtice would only say that Healy was being held on suspicion of child pornography. A federal spokeswoman wouldn't elaborate on why agents arrested Healy.
Curtice said Healy was placed in a booking cell, but because he had not yet been booked, he still had on his belt and shoes.
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Healy was found hanging from his belt "a short time later," Curtice said, and was taken to Community Regional Medical Center. Healy was pronounced dead at 2:15 a.m. Wednesday, the Fresno County Coroner's office said.
Healy had been a Fresno Unified teacher for 35 years, district spokeswoman Susan Bedi said. He was a technology teacher and had taught at Duncan Polytechnical High School and worked for the district's technology services department, Bedi said.
"On behalf of Fresno Unified, we would like to extend our condolences to the family during this difficult time," Bedi said in a statement issued Wednesday.
A woman who answered the telephone at Healy's residence declined to comment.
Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed that agents took Healy into custody Tuesday but declined to give details about what led to his arrest. "There is no criminal complaint at this point," she said.
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