DEKALB COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — A former DeKalb County Schools employee was arrested in Georgia on child sexual abuse material charges.
DeKalb County Schools confirmed to News 19 that Michael Lance Brown is currently on administrative leave following his arrest in Georgia. DCS said Brown was hired on November 7, 2022, as a Computer Technician for the school district.
“During his employment with the District, there were no reports of misconduct by Mr. Brown, nor has there been any reason for the District to suspect misconduct by Mr. Brown prior to his arrest,” DCS said.
The Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office told News 19 that investigators had arrested Brown, 36, of Cloudland, Georgia, on Tuesday.
According to the sheriff’s office, Brown was arrested “on charges related to manufacturing and distributing child pornography as well as videoing others without their consent. The investigation revealed that Brown was manufacturing, uploading and sending child pornography online. Brown was utilizing a hidden video recorder to obtain images.”
The school system said that it has not received any information indicating that the conduct Brown is accused of, which led to his arrest, occurred on school property.
DeKalb County Schools released the following statement on social media on Tuesday:
DeKalb County Schools has been made aware of the arrest of a school system employee as a result of an ongoing investigation conducted by the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Department of Homeland Security. The individual was taken into custody on charges relating to the manufacturing and distribution of child pornography, as well as video recording individuals without their consent.
At this time, we can confirm that the charges are not connected to our students, and did not occur on our campuses, however, due to the serious nature of the allegations, DeKalb County Schools in conjunction with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office has launched an investigation to ensure that the privacy, safety, and well-being of our students have not been compromised in any way.
This individual has been removed from all duties penting the outcome of the investigation.
The safety of our students is our top priority. We are working in full cooperation with law enforcement and will take all nexessary steps to protect our students and staff. Any violation of trust or abuse of position will be met with immediate and appropriate action.
We ask for the public’s patience as this investigation continues and assure our community that we are committed to transparency, accountability, and the highest standards of student protection.
DeKalb County Schools
You can see the full list of Brown’s charges:
- Sexual Exploitation of children – Felony (6 counts)
- Computer or Electronic Pornography and child exploitation – Felony (6 counts)
- Unlawful eavesdropping or surveillance- Felony (11 counts)
- Possession of eavesdropping device- Felony (2 counts)
- Surreptitious recording of intimate parts- Felony (11 counts)
- Transmission of photography or video depicting nudity or sexually explicit conduct of an adult – Felony (5 counts)
DCS said the district is fully cooperating with law enforcement in its investigation.
The post DeKalb Co. Schools employee arrested in Georgia for child sexual abuse material, placed on administrative leave appeared first on WHNT.
