A teacher in Louisiana has been arrested after being accused of distributing child pornography.
Brandon Short was arrested on Tuesday and charged with 45 counts of distributing pornography that included children under 13-years-old, WAFB reported.
Short allegedly used the app Kik to distribute pornographic pictures of young girls.
The former teacher worked in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System and had been hired in August of 2021.
He was “assigned as an itinerant teacher” at Ryan Elementary School, WAFB reported.
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The school system announced that Short had in fact passed a background check when they first hired him.
But with this development and the charges he is facing, Short has been placed on administrative leave as this investigation continues.
“He was hired with the school district on Aug. 2, 2021. Upon that employment his background check and fingerprints were cleared on Aug. 5, 2021. He was placed on administrative leave Aug. 5. Short was assigned as an itinerant teacher at Ryan ES,” the school district said in a statement, WBRZ-TV reported.
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The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office had been investigating Short alongside the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crime Unit and the Louisiana State Police and Homeland Security Investigations, according to WAFB.
If Short is convicted of the charges he faces, he could face 25 years in prison without parole, probation or a suspended sentence, WBRZ-TV reported.
This is also the second major child pornography issue related to a teacher that Lousiana has had in just the past few months.
In July, a joint investigation of multiple agencies led to the arrest Peyton Lambertson, KLFY-TV reported.
Lambertson was a teacher in the Zachary Community School District and charged with 100 counts of pornography that involved children. He was also charged with 100 counts of computer-aided solicitation of a minor.
The Louisiana laws for child pornography offenses are harsh, particularly for those who produce or distribute porn.
“Whoever distributes or possesses with the intent to distribute pornography involving juveniles shall be fined not more than fifty thousand dollars and shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than five years or more than twenty years, without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence,” Louisiana law states.
On a second charge of child pornography, the fine and prison time increases to seventy-five thousand dollars and prison for 10 to 40 years without parole, probation or suspension of sentence.
Short is facing 45 counts, so his jail time and fines could be substantial.
