Kevin Hedrick.
Investigators tracked Kevin Hedrick, 37, of New Franklin, on the app Kik, where he allegedly used the alias Mike Smith. According to an FBI affidavit in support of a criminal complaint, Hedrick thought he was communicating with the 28-year-old mother of two underage girls, but he was actually speaking with a U.S. Secret Service agent.
Hedrick, a social studies teacher at Medina High School, has been charged in Cleveland federal court with two counts of child pornography: receipt of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and enticing or coercing a minor to engage in prostitution or any criminal sexual activity.
He’s also accused of using the school district’s internet services to access his Kik account, according to court documents, where investigators allegedly found hundreds of images of child pornography depicting children between the ages of 7 and 13.
Last October, Hendrik allegedly began messaging with the undercover Secret Service agent in a Kik chatroom entitled “Ohio Chastity Key Holders,” according to the affidavit.
There, he allegedly responded to a chatroom post from the undercover agent, who was posing as a mother of two daughters, aged 5 and 14.
When the “mother” asked Hedrick if he’d like to have sex with her and her teenage daughter, Hedrick allegedly responded in the affirmative. He also allegedly told the agent he’d never slept with someone underage, but had had relationships with two students after they finished high school, the affidavit alleges.
In October, Hedrick arranged to meet the agent in a hotel room, but he didn’t show up.
When later questioned about the Kik messages, Hedrick allegedly said he had “fantasized about having sexual relations with the woman and her 14-year-old daughter, but qualified the chats as only descriptive fantasies,” the affidavit says.
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Hedrick was put on paid leave from the school district on Oct. 24. In an email to parents, Medina City Schools Superintendent Aaron Sable wrote, “We understand charges of this nature are distressing especially in a school environment involving an educator,” theAkron Beacon Journalreports. “We are thankful for the diligence and collaboration of the FBI, local police and district administration to ensure our students and staff remain safe from predators.”
However, Hedrick’s lawyer, Donald J. Malarcik Jr., told PEOPLE that Hedrick has resigned as of January 6, and will “never teach again.”
Hedrick is currently being held in a federal detention facility in Youngstown, Ohio, his lawyer says. He has a detention hearing scheduled in federal court on January 13.
source: people.com
