College employee was fired six months after pleading guilty to distributing child pornography

On September 19, Dartmouth fired family services coordinator Marc Jacques, a college spokesperson said. Six months earlier, Jacques had pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of distributing child pornography.

According to college spokesperson Kathryn Kennedy, the human resources department did not learn of Jacques’ plea deal until September 18 — nine days after his conviction in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire. Jacques was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of supervised release on September 9, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire. He was also ordered to pay $26,500 in restitution. He is expected to surrender to prison “on or before” December 2, according to a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office.

The College learned of Jacques’ crime through the same U.S. Attorney’s Office press release, Kennedy wrote in an emailed statement to The Dartmouth.

“The former employee was placed on administrative leave within hours (of learning),” she wrote. “His employment at Dartmouth was terminated the following day.”

Jacques did not notify Dartmouth when he pleaded guilty to the charges in March, Kennedy added — a violation of university policy. According to the Employment Reference Check, Background Check, Conduct Records Review and Reference Request Policy, all current College employees “have an ongoing responsibility… to make Dartmouth aware of felony or misdemeanor convictions or pleas that are admissions of responsibility.” However, the Board is not automatically informed in these situations, Kennedy writes.

“There is no mechanism in place for Dartmouth, or any employer, to be notified if one of their current employees is arrested or charged with an alleged crime, nor when an employee may plead guilty or be convicted,” Kennedy explained .

The U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson declined to comment on whether Dartmouth had been notified of Jacques’ charges or settlement.

While Jacques pleaded guilty in March 2024, his activities had raised concerns years earlier. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release, Jacques’ IP address was reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in at least 40 CyberTips — NCMEC’s ​​tip line for reporting child sexual exploitation — between 2018 and 2022.

After a federal search warrant was served on Jacques’ home and person in June 2022, law enforcement agents found more than 200 files containing “apparent” child sexual abuse material, messages between Jacques and others regarding the sexual exploitation of children, and evidence that Jacques distributed child pornography, the press release said.

In September 2022, Jacques began working at Dartmouth on a “temporary basis” under a contract with an employment agency, Kennedy wrote in a follow-up statement. He was subsequently hired full-time by the College as a Family Giving Coordinator in November 2022. His background check at that time turned up “no findings,” she added.

“Dartmouth regularly uses agencies to meet short-term staffing needs,” Kennedy wrote. “(Dartmouth’s) contracts with agencies require them to screen their candidates in a manner consistent with Dartmouth’s standards. In this case, the employment agency representing him had also conducted a background check on the former employee.”

According to the college’s employment policy, finalists for all non-academic staff positions at Dartmouth are “subject to” background checks of “employment, educational, criminal, sexual and violent offenders, as well as external conduct checks… of prior employment at an educational institution, if applicable .”

A Dartmouth employee, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth that many employees were “shocked” and “saddened” by Jacques’ conviction. The employee first heard about Jacques’ dismissal from a “concerned colleague” outside of work, and not from university leadership, she added.

“Other employees hear about it from colleagues or from the news – why hasn’t Dartmouth leadership addressed this?” the anonymous employee wrote.

Kennedy wrote that the Board shares employee departure information with “those who have a business need to know” to “ensure that human resources matters are handled confidentially and with integrity.”

“We realize how frustrating that is, and the anger and pain that can be caused if we learn this information after the fact,” she wrote. “We communicate directly with these staff members and provide support services through the Faculty/Employee Assistance Program.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release, Jacques’ case was brought “as part of” Project Safe Childhood – a nationwide initiative to “combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse” through collaboration between federal, state and local law enforcement. to the PSC website.

Kay Reynolds, associate director of family relations and engagement, associate director Jeffrey Rodriguez, director of family relations and engagement Carly Sokolik and leadership outreach coordinator Mary Beth Westward did not respond to multiple requests for comment at the time of publication.

An email to Jacques returned an automated message referring The Dartmouth to Sokolik.