Westminster coach fired after child porn charges

Westminster High School’s head volleyball coach was terminated Tuesday after being arrested on child pornography charges, the Carroll County Public School System announced in a letter sent to parents and system employees.

Evan Thomas Harris Frock, 32, of Taneytown, was arrested Monday and charged with distribution of child pornography, the Carroll County Sheriff ’s Office said in a news release. He’s charged with four counts of inducing a minor to produce child pornography and eight counts of possession of child pornography, among numerous other charges, according to the sheriff ’s office.

Frock also worked as a substitute teacher at the high school.

“As always, we are fully cooperating with the sheriff ’s office and any other authorities with the investigation,” the school system’s letter stated.

Between April and October 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received reports on its CyberTipline that Frock had distributed files of child pornography through Snapchat, a social media platform. Deputies executed a search warrant Monday at Frock’s home in Taneytown, the sheriff ’s office said.

Frock contacted more than 1,000 Snapchat users while allegedly posing as a high school student using the names volleygirlhan, volleygirl1025, laxguy2323 and pictures1025, to facilitate the exchange of photos and videos of underage girls, police said. Investigators are working with school officials and the Carroll County Board of Education to identify possible additional victims.

Carey Gaddis, a spokesperson for Carroll County Public Schools, said Frock began working as a volleyball coach at Westminster High School on Aug. 25, 2015. Frock was hired as a permanent substitute teacher on Aug. 21, 2019, Gaddis said.

Teresa McCulloh, president of the Carroll County Education Association, said the situation is “disgusting” and “extremely concerning.”

“Districts are desperate in hiring teachers due to a shortage, considering the unreasonable expectations and treatment from some of the extreme community groups,” McCulloh said. “The shortage is only going to get worse.”

Frock is being held without bail following a Tuesday morning bail review hearing. No attorney was listed for Frock in online court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 7 in Carroll District Court.

Earlier this year, a Westminster High School English teacher was placed on administrative leave by the Carroll County public school system. Leslie N. Lewis, a former principal at Baltimore Community High School, an alternative school that closed in 2016, pleaded guilty in December 2017 to two counts of theft for taking more than $58,000 from the Baltimore City Public Schools system. She was sentenced in February 2018 to five years for each count of theft, with all but 90 days suspended, according to the state prosecutor’s office. She was also supposed to serve five years of supervised probation.

Lewis is no longer employed by Carroll County Public Schools, according to Gaddis.