Crime & Safety

Former Barrow Middle School Teacher Indicted on Federal Child Porn Charges

U.S. prosecutors say William Kimbrell of Covington had remnants of child porn on his computer despite trying to delete images.

A former Barrow County middle school teacher has been indicted on federal charges of accessing with intent to view child pornography, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said Monday afternoon.

William Kimbrell, 27, of Covington, Ga., described in a press release from Yates’ office as “a middle school teacher in Barrow County, Ga.,” was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 18.

Kimbrell resigned his teaching job on March 17, according to the press release.

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"This now-former middle school teacher has been indicted on child pornography charges," said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. "Through the vigilance of our law enforcement partners, this defendant is no longer teaching, and will face the consequences of his actions."

Prosecutors say in October 2012, a sheriff’s office detective found that someone in a Statesboro, Ga., apartment complex was distributing child pornography. Then, from late-December of that year into January 2013, the same person allegedly was still offering child porn, but the IP address came back to a Covington, Ga., address.

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When Homeland Security Investigations special agents learned of the case this year, they identified the suspect as Kimbrell and obtained a warrant to search his Covington home.

The search found Kimbrell had deleted much of the child pornography from his computer, according to the press release. But analysts were able to find remnants of files that they say determined Kimbrell accessed child porn online from October to December 2013, which included time during which he was teaching.

Yates’ press release did not indicate at which middle school Kimbrell taught.

This is the second time this month a north Georgia educator has been implicated in a child-sex case. Earlier this month, John McGill, principal of an elementary school in Douglas County, was arrested and charged with attempting to set up sex with a minor. Last week, a judge determined the case had enough evidence to proceed.

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