Virus alert on school laptop leads to child porn charges against Independence drama teacher
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) - A teacher at Truman High School in Independence is out of the classroom and under investigation.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s office charged Austin Meyer with 11 counts of possession of child pornography.
Court records show the district received a malware virus notification on a district laptop issued to Meyer. They investigated and found 11 gigabytes of child pornography on the laptop. The probable cause statement describes the images as “explicit pornographic images of nude underage females.”
The district’s public safety director also told investigators they found a pronographic video involving a 9 or 10-year-old girl on the laptop, according to the court document.
Meyer’s LinkedIn page shows he is a drama teacher at Truman High School.
The district notified families Meyer is on istrative leave pending an ongoing law enforcement investigation.
In an email, the district told families that students at the school are not in danger and there is no threat to student safety. There is no current evidence linking any students in the Independence School District to the allegations involving Meyer, according to the email.
The district did not release any additional information because the issue is considered a personnel matter.
Meyer is in custody, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. He is held on $100,000 bond.
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