Mesquite ISD teacher arrested on child pornography charge
TERRELL, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — A football coach and teacher at a North Texas high school has been arrested on a charge of possessing child pornography, a Mesquite ISD spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.
John Waters, 25, was arrested on Tuesday, Feb. 14 by Terrell police and booked into the Kaufman County Jail where he remains on $100,000 bond.
Officials with MISD said that Waters had worked at John Horn High School as a football coach and U.S. history teacher since August 2022. He was employed with district before then, having worked as an extended substitute teacher the year prior.
Waters was put on administrative leave "immediately" after the district learned about his arrest.
MISD said that they were not aware of any concerns about or allegations of inappropriate behavior involving Waters, and police do not believe that his arrest involves the district nor any of its students.
Terrell police said that their investigation into Waters began on Oct. 13, 2022, after detectives received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. According to the department, the investigators' report "affirmed information relating to child pornography."
The investigation eventually led detectives to an apartment in Terrell where Waters had allegedly uploaded the illegal material and they executed a search warrant on the residence in Dec. 2022.
Electronic devices were seized, and a forensic search allegedly turned up evidence of child pornography.
