Ex-Anne Arundel County teacher charged with possession of child pornography

BALTIMORE -- A former Anne Arundel County high school teacher is facing charges after he was found in possession of child pornography, according to police.

Michael Hislop, a 26-year-old ex-social studies teacher at St. Mary's High School in Annapolis, is charged with 16 counts of possession of child pornography.    

Anne Arundel County Police received a tip in January from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that two separate IP addresses uploaded 22 files of apparent child pornography.

Those IP addresses led investigators to Hislop's home in Arnold and to St. Mary's High School.

"They conducted a search warrant and were able to locate multiple device multiple devices that contain child pornographic images," said Anne Arundel County Police spokesperson Marc Limansky.

Hislop was at the home and and was taken into custody after police verified that the digital storage account used to upload the pornography belonged to him.  

"I just thought it was super crazy. I'm glad that they caught him," a student said.    

Officers say no images were found on school computers but they believe that while on the job, Hislop used the school's internet connected on his phone to look at images online. 

"There are no child victims here in our community that were part of this investigation whatsoever," Limansky said. 

The Archdiocese of Baltimore says Hislop was hired at St. Mary's in January 2022 and his employment ended in February after he was placed on administrative leave.

The Archdiocese says that there is no indication that anyone at the school is impacted or involved.

"A thorough employment screening, which included fingerprinting and a comprehensive background and reference check was completed prior to his employment," the Archdiocese of Baltimore said in a statement. "He was up to date with mandatory child protection training. When St. Mary's learned of the investigation Mr. Hislop was immediately placed on administrative leave and St. Mary's cooperated fully with the Anne Arundel County Police Department (AACPD) in its investigation."

"The Archdiocese of Baltimore is committed to protecting children. It urges anyone who has any knowledge of this occurrence or any other in relation to the abuse of minors to come forward and to report it immediately to law enforcement."

Hislop is set to appear in court on May 14 in the Anne Arundel County District Court in Annapolis.