Ripon Teacher Would Have Faced Numerous Charges

A Ripon School District teacher would have been facing significant charges had he not committed suicide back in October of 2021.

Rick Kelm had been a respected teacher and coach within the district for years.

Search warrants were issued as part of an investigation on October 21 of last year, following a tip that was generated by the National Center for Missing Exploited Children. That tip was sent to the Department of Justice DCI Unit and then forwarded on to the Ripon Police Department.

The tip came from an internet storage company had recovered numerous images of suspected child porn. IP addresses associated with the files were connected to Kelm.

Ripon Chief of Police William Wallner told KFIZ News at the time that Kelm was not in custody, nor was any arrest made.

But more warrants were issued on October 27 of last year, with Kelm’s body being found near his home the next day.

Kelm would have been facing multiple charges for possession of child porn.