Corinth Superintendent indicted in connection with AI child porn case
CORINTH, Miss. (WCBI) – The former superintendent of the Corinth School District is indicted in connection with the case of
AI-generated child porn allegedly produced by a former teacher.
Edward Lee Childress was arrested on a felony charge of hindering prosecution in the first degree. Also, Wilson Jones, a former teacher with the district, was arrested on a three-count felony indictment. He is charged with depicting children engaging in sexual conduct.
The indictments were returned by the Alcorn County Grand Jury. The case goes back to March, when Jones was arrested. The former Middle School teacher is accused of using a school computer to produce AI-generated videos of students engaged in sexual activity.
Jones resigned in November, after the images were found on his computer. However, court records show the Mississippi Department of Education was not made aware of the situation until January. Childress was fired days after Jones’ arrest.
District Attorney Jason Herring said eight people testified to the Alcorn County Grand Jury, which led to the indictments.
Childress has been released after posting a $10,000 bond.
Here is the complete statement released by District Attorney Jason Herring regarding the latest developments in this case;
“Good morning everyone, and thank you for coming.
This morning, former Corinth School District Superintendent, Edward Lee Childress, was taken into custody on the indicted felony charge of Hindering Prosecution in the First Degree, a Class 1 felony, as returned by the Alcorn County Grand Jury.
Additionally, Wilson Jones, former school teacher with the Corinth School District, was taken into custody on the three-count felony indictment charging Depicting Child Engaging in Sexual Conduct, as returned by the Alcorn County Grand Jury.
Let me make this extremely clear, at no time did any of these children who are referenced in the indictment, which are intentionally not named in accordance with applicable law, have any knowledge, knowingly participate, or do anything whatsoever wrong or inappropriate, period!
In this matter many people were interviewed and cooperated with the investigation, including eight people who testified before an Alcorn County Grand Jury. This investigation uncovered many decisions, actions and omissions that could have and should have been handled differently. However, the District Attorney’s Office and the Grand Jury are charged with prosecuting and indicting crimes, respectively. Furthermore, as previously stated by me, our focus at the District Attorney’s office and our primary responsibility is on felony criminal violations.
In conclusion, we want to thank the extensive and tireless work by Detective Bo Swindell and Chief Landon Tucker of the Corinth Police Department in this matter. Furthermore, my office will continue to collaborate and work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District, headed by U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner in regard to these matters.
An indictment contains the formal charges, and all Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in the court of law.
Jason D. Herring
District Attorney
First Circuit Court District
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