A substitute teacher arrested at a St. Paul charter school on Wednesday allegedly was viewing pornography on a computer in a classroom when students saw it.

The 40-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of distributing pornography to a child at Community At Peace Academy, 471 Magnolia Av., said police spokesman Peter Panos. No charges had been filed as of Wednesday.

Panos said students were working on computers last Thursday when two of them, 14 and 15 years old, saw the substitute teacher viewing the pornographic photos on another computer. Police later searched the man's house in St. Paul for computer-related items, Panos said.

The principal for grades 7-12, Tim McGowan, said the teacher was dismissed on Friday when administrators became aware of the alleged activity. School policy forbids viewing sexually explicit material, McGowan said.

"It's definitely an unfortunate situation," he said Wednesday. "Most importantly our students' safety was not endangered. The response by our school was immediate and efficient and we took all the necessary steps in responding to this report."

McGowan said the substitute teacher had worked at the school this past year and also previously but McGowan said he couldn't be more specific. "The teacher in question had a clear background," he said.

He wouldn't comment on details of the class involved and just how the alleged incident was reported, citing the police investigation.

Community at Peace began in 1995. The school has 684 students, pre-K through 12.

Kevin Giles • 651-298-1554