LELAND — An arrest warrant for a former Pender County Schools teacher alleges he shared graphic images of school-aged children on a popular social media platform.
Leland Police Department arrested Parker Brown, 39, on Sept. 29 and charged him with six counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor for the possession of child pornography, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
READ MORE: Pender County Schools teacher arrested for seven counts of alleged child exploitation
The warrant for Brown’s arrest cites he posted “material containing a visual representation of a minor” on an instant message social platform. Discord allows users to communicate over voice directly or post messages in servers with multiple members.
The second-degree exploitation charges reference Brown distributing the image, while the third-degree charge is in regards to his possession of it.
Brown allegedly shared an image of two nude girls, ages 7 to 10, in a sexually explicit position with one another.
The warrant lists the identities of the girls depicted in the image as “unknown.” Both the school district and LPD maintain the crimes are not related to Brown’s work as a teacher and PCS students were not included in the images.
Police also wrote in the report that Brown was found in possession of marijuana pipes and a grinder to process the drug.
The eight offenses are dated back to April 2021, indicating when police think the crimes took place — over a year ago. LPD Lt. Dallas Warren said the department recieved a tip via the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force program.
He noted offense dates and arrest dates may differ because of the length of an investigation or a tip coming in months after a crime is committed. He declined to comment on how long Brown has been under investigation.
Leland spokesperson Jessica Jewell said Brown has not been charged with additional crimes. The investigation remains open and officers are pursuing leads.
Brown lives in Leland but taught fifth grade at C.F. Pope Elementary School in Burgaw. He resigned from his teaching job the same day he was arrested; minutes later, Pender County Schools announced his suspension.
The district originally reported Brown was hired in 2005, but he started working as a teacher at Malpass Elementary School, west of Burgaw, on Aug. 20, 2012. PCS spokesperson Bob Fankboner said Brown spent nearly 10 years at Malpass before transferring to C.F. Pope during the 2021-2022 school year.
Parker had no history of suspensions with the district until he was arrested. His salary was $51,230 per year when he resigned.
Second-degree exploitation carries a maximum sentence of 25 months in prison and third-degree exploitation carries a maximum 39-month punishment. If convicted, Brown will be entered into the state sex-offender registry for 30 years, though he could petition the state superior court to be removed from the list after 10 years.
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