Emily Salazar, Bakersfield Area Teacher, Put on Leave for Alleged Porn Past

A Bakersfield-area teacher named Emily Salazar has been put on leave for her sordid porn past. This is not the first time we’ve heard this story, nor will it likely be the last.

In 2012, middle school students discovered that their then-teacher Stacie Halas had previously worked as porn performer Tiffany Six. In sum, Halas’ career in porn consisted of approximately 20 scenes, all shot in the mid-’00s.

Initially brushed off as rumor, a subsequent investigation led to firing Halas from her teaching position at Haydock Intermediate School in Oxnard, CA. According to findings, Halas had performed in at least one scene while she was in the very early stages of her teaching career in 2006 – which FYI is not illegal, but no one really seems to care about that.

In January of 2013, Halas lost her appeal to continue teaching, with the final decision concluding that she should have no presence in a classroom, at all. Google doesn’t seem to know what Halas is up to today.

Fast forward to 2019, where something very similar seems to be unfolding regarding a high school teacher in Bakersfield, CA.

According to Bakersfield.com, Frontier High School science teacher Emily Salazar, age 36, was placed on leave earlier this week after students discovered adult content, in which she was featured, online.

Reactions to the discovery were mixed.

One parent said she doesn’t believe any crimes were committed, but she finds Salazar’s alleged behavior disturbing. “I think it’s disgusting, especially a high school teacher, risking knowing that her students could see her doing that,” Bakersfield.com reported the parent saying.

Other parents disagree. What Salazar does in her free time (or did as a previous, perfectly legal career) should not matter. “Big deal!” Sarah Kirschner posted on Facebook, as reported by Bakersfield.com. “If she didn’t break the law then who cares?”

Joshua Speaks, public affairs manager for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, told Bakersfield.com that the commission has reviewed porn-related cases in the past. The outcomes differ depending on a variety of factors.

Speaks said cases like these are reviewed under what are commonly known as “Morrison factors,” articulated by the California Supreme Court for determining fitness to teach. Those factors include likelihood of recurrence of the questioned conduct, extenuating or aggravating factors, effect of notoriety and publicity, impairment of teacher-student relationships, disruption of the education process, motive and when the conduct occurred.

Just based on the fact that Salazar is in the news – including here – chances are her teaching career is destined to go the way of Halas.’ Notoriety and publicity do a lot to interrupt teacher-student relationships, as well as the education process overall.

There are seemingly endless cases like these. Halas and Salazar are not the first performers to move on to different occupations, only to be brutalized by the media and have their lives upended when their past “transgressions” were “discovered” — by minors, I might add. Why aren’t authorities investigating young peoples’ access to adult content and the neglect that allowed that?

The irony of a world that consumes porn rabidly, while simultaneously shunning and shaming performers, including those who attempt to move in different directions, is appalling. We send our best wishes and strongest, most supportive vibes out to Salazar, as well as to Halas — where ever she may be these days.

Photo: Emily Salazar, Frontier High School yearbook.