A North Texas special education teacher who was accused of sexually assaulting a child earlier this month now faces child pornography charges from a video made in 2010.
Kelly Dan Williams, 62, a teacher who works with special needs youngsters at Mary Orr Intermediate School in the Mansfield Independent School District (ISD), made an initial appearance in court on Monday, June 15 on a federal complaint on the production of child pornography, according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas.
The US Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cureton ordered that Williams remain in federal custody until a probable cause and detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday, the Dallas Morning News reported.
A complaint was filed by a witness who saw Williams perform a sex act on an 11-year-old male student in a school bathroom stall on June 1. The release said that this individual reported the incident to the school’s administration, and Williams was sent to the Human Resources office. He was arrested that same day by Mansfield ISD police.
Williams was accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child and improper relationship between an educator and student, according to the Fort-Worth Star Telegram. Bond was set at $3oo,ooo.
Breitbart Texas has reported on the alarming rise of teacher-student sexual misconduct in public schools. Last year, the Lone Star state landed at the unenviable top spot on a Drive West Communications national list, in which a whopping 116 of the nation’s 781 recorded educator-student sexual misconduct cases happened in Texas.
This came on the heels of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) experiencing a 27 percent increase in these kinds of inquiries from 141 in 2009-10 to 179 in 2013-14. That was followed by 74 new cases under TEA investigation that occurred between September 1, 2014 and February 28, 2015, KSAT-12 reported.
Over the summer, the TEA will release complete school year-end figures with the final tally of reported and investigated cases of inappropriate sexual relationships between educators and their students that took place during school year 2014-15.
It is the ultimate violation when a child is sexually abused by a teacher or faculty or staff member. It is an equally unthinkable betrayal when a special needs student is sexually violated by a district employee.
Last winter, in Rockville, Maryland, a 15-year-old boy, who suffered with brain damage due to meningitis as an infant, was taken advantage of sexually by a teacher’s aide, who escaped arrest by fleeing the country. The affected family and others pushed for Sexual Abuse and Assault Awareness Prevention Program legislation that would have required lawmakers to develop a develop a curriculum to teach children the warning signs of sexual abuse and how to prevent it, according to WUSA-9.
The Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) opposed these efforts, insisting acceptable mechanisms were already in place to stave off and address inappropriate teacher conduct, and the bill stalled.
In 2014, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report which stated the nation’s K-12 public schools lack a systematic approach to prevent and report educator sexual misconduct perpetrated by teachers, coaches, principals, bus drivers, and other administrative or other faculty employed by school districts.
The report acknowledged that states and school districts were taking some positive steps, although it concluded “current efforts are clearly not enough.”
In Texas, an Educator Investigations (EI) unit looks into reported cases of sexual misconduct, which Breitbart Texas reported. The EI must follow strict and clear guidelines when opening a case or cooperating with law enforcement in an ongoing investigation. The case then proceeds to the State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC) Legal department for further handling with the State Office of Administration Hearings (SOAH).
Sanctions for a Texas educator can vary from a reprimand to permanent certification revocation. Should educators receive deferred adjudication for a crime, they may not teach while serving that sentence.
However, to add to insult to injury in Williams’ case, police already obtained a search warrant for his residence where they seized electronic storage devices, including an SD memory card, said the US Attorney’s news release.
A forensic examination revealed that a video on the SD card depicted Williams performing a sex act on the male minor, who appeared to be younger than 12 years old, in what appeared to be a bathroom stall, according to the release. Further analysis indicated that the video was created on or about February 3, 2010.
If convicted on the pornography charge, Williams faces a maximum penalty of not less than 15 years or more than 30 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release, according to the US Attorney’s document.
Williams was released from jail on state charges after posting bond on June 5, according to Tarrant County district clerk’s office records.
The Fort-Worth Star Telegram previously reported that Williams was hired by the district in August 2010. Currently, his Texas Educator Certificate is under review by the state.
The intermediate school serves grades 5-6. WFAA-8 reported that Mary Orr Intermediate principal Duane Thurston sent home a letter to parents and guardians in which he wrote, “We want to assure you that the safety of our students remains our top priority.”
Thurston added, “We are committed to maintaining a safe school environment that is conducive to teaching and learning.”
Working with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office on the investigation are Mansfield ISD campus police, the Mansfield Police Department, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Homeland Security Investigations (HIS).
Follow Merrill Hope on Twitter @OutOfTheBoxMom.
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