An Aberdeen High School teacher appeared in court Tuesday afternoon for his arraignment on charges of allegedly possessing and dealing child pornography.

Jeffrey Gross, 31, entered a plea of not guilty for one count of dealing in depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Gross appeared with his attorney, Scott Campbell, who requested his client be released to the custody of his girlfriend. Grays Harbor Prosecutor Katie Svoboda requested bail be set, because Gross had limited ties to the community and the charges were severe.

Judge David Edwards set bail at $50,000. An omnibus hearing is set for Sept. 19, and a tentative trial date has been set for Oct. 25.

In a press release issued Saturday, Sept. 3, Aberdeen School District Superintendent Thomas Opstad acknowledged that a teacher had been under investigation and was subsequently arrested. The district did not release the teacher’s name.

Opstad said the teacher was placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation. Further, prior to hiring, all required criminal background checks were performed and the teacher’s references were verified.

Gross has lived in Elma for about one year, and previously lived in California. According to his staff page, before it was removed, Gross graduated from the University of North Texas in 2009 with bachelor’s degree in physics with a minor in secondary education.

Gross’ name in the school directory and his staff page have since been removed from the Aberdeen High School website.