Ex-teacher charged with child porn
A former Dublin Scioto High School teacher has been charged with child pornography for taking and possessing nude photos of a female student with whom he had sex in his school classroom, according to a complaint filed in federal court in Columbus.
Gregory R. Lee, 52, appeared in court Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Elizabeth A. Preston Deavers. She ordered him held without bail in the Franklin County jail.
Lee is charged with one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession, distribution and receipt of child pornography in the complaint filed by Brett M. Peachey, a Westerville police officer assigned to the FBI task force against cyber and violent crimes.
The complaint said Lee took images of the 15-yearold girl and sent her nude images of himself.
The girl’s mother notified authorities after reading her daughter’s personal journal in May. The writing included explicit descriptions of at least one act of
oral sex between the girl and “Greg Lee,” according to the complaint.
Dublin Superintendent Todd F. Hoadley said the district immediately notified Dublin police that Lee might have had inappropriate relations with a student. Police notified the FBI.
Lee had a few previous discipline problems in his 22 years with the Dublin district, but none that hinted at criminal wrongdoing, Hoadley said.
The girl told investigators this month that she had been having sex with Lee since November 2016 and sent him nude photographs of herself. She said Lee would request nude photos of her and that she would feel “guilt-tripped” if she didn’t comply.
The complaint said Lee, who lives on the Northeast Side, admitted to having sex with the girl in his classroom multiple times and taking photos of her there. He also admitted to sending her nude photos of himself, the document states.
The FBI reported finding 234 images of the student in a USB drive recovered from Lee’s car, including 49 images depicting the girl in various stages of nudity. Some images were dated as recently as May 29. Some appeared to have been sent to the drive from his cellphone.
The district put Lee on administrative leave in April and then demanded he resign, which he did.
“To be clear, we would have initiated termination procedures had he not resigned,” Hoadley said. “All of us work in education because we care about children. We’re sickened by these charges.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill said that if Lee is convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 15 years (and as many as 30 years) on the production charge and a mandatory minimum of five years in prison (as many as 20 years) on the possession, distribution and receipt charges.