Mississippi child protection agency hired ex-teacher accused of creating child porn

CORINTH, Miss. (TCN) — The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services hired a former middle school teacher in February even though he had been let go from his teaching job just months earlier for allegedly using AI to create lewd images of his students.

According to federal court documents obtained by Action 5 News in March, Corinth Middle School information technology officials received an alert in November 2024 that employee Wilson Frederick Jones, 30, had been downloading illicit content onto a school-issued device.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports Jones was allowed to resign on Nov. 21, 2024, two days after the images were discovered. The Mississippi Department of Education was notified of the incident on Jan. 29 and forwarded a complaint about Jones to the Corinth Police Department on Feb. 26.

The FBI served a subpoena to seize Jones’ devices on March 3, according to WTVA. Authorities reportedly discovered five AI-generated videos on the devices, allegedly showing the faces of eight of Jones’ female students superimposed onto AI-created bodies performing sexual acts. Police also reportedly found thousands of non-AI-generated images of child sexual abuse material during their search.

The students were between the ages of 14 and 16, according to an affidavit published by Action 5 News. Police notified the alleged victims’ parents after the videos were discovered. Jones allegedly admitted he generated the images using social media photos of the minors and nothing was filmed, per the affidavit.

Jones was arrested March 12 and charged in federal court with production of a morphed image of child pornography and possession of a morphed image of child pornography, according to Corinth Police Chief Landon Tucker.

Between the time of his resignation from Corinth Middle School and his March arrest, Jones began work at the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services on Feb. 18, according to court documents viewed by Law & Crime. 

Duties included direct interaction with foster children. Action 5 News reports Jones was hired despite asking CPS not to contact his former employers at the school district; it is unclear whether he is still employed by the agency.

In a related case, Corinth School District Superintendent Edward Lee Childress was taken into custody on May 23 on a felony charge of hindering prosecution in the first degree, according to District Attorney Jason D. Herring. Childress reportedly knew about Jones’ alleged actions in November 2024 but failed to report them in a timely manner.

The Corinth School Board fired Childress on March 17, stating in a press release that trustees “unanimously voted to terminate” his contract.

Herring also announced that Jones was arrested and charged with three felony counts of depicting child engaging in sexual conduct.

Childress’ attorney Scott Gilbert is making a motion to sever the cases so the two co-defendants can be tried separately.