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Justin Smith, the Former Head of Cocoa’s St. Mark’s Episcopal Academy and current St. Anne’s Episcopal Head of School in Middletown, Delaware has been charged with 25 felony child pornography counts.
According to his LinkedIn, Justin served as the Head of Schools for St. Mark’s from July 2022 to July 2024.
43-year-old Justin Smith was arrested following an investigation, according to Attorney General Kathy Jennings. The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) launched an investigation after receiving multiple CyberTrips by Kik Messenger warnings that Smith had uploaded Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSM) from Smith’s IP address.
Delaware State Police and the Department of Justice acted on search warrants, and found more material.
Smith is not charged with contacting a child, but authorities are asking for any information the public may have about the case to contact the ICAC Task Force at (302)-739-2030.
According to a statement by President of the Board of Trustees Harry Baetjer, Smith has been barred from campus and placed on administrative leave.
“This is devastating. It evokes grief, anxiety, fear, anger, and myriad other emotions. Nevertheless, we are in the process of developing a plan of action to meet the needs of all our students, parents, faculty, and staff. Helping families cope with this situation is the priority. Counseling is available at the school for students, and we are exploring solutions to increase that availability.”
Baetjer added that Smith passed a background check but “the reality is that sex offender registries, criminal background checks, and reference checks are not guarantees that something unlawful will not occur.”
Original reporting by Sean Greene from WDEL.COM
