Bay County school teacher charged with possessing hundreds of child porn images and videos

PANAMA CITY − A Bay County school teacher has been arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, the Bay County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday.

The Sheriff's Office said Brian McKay, 56, of Bayou George was arrested Wednesday amid an investigation into a Google Drive account loaded with hundreds of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse. The Sheriff's Office identified McKay as an employee of Bay District Schools. The school district later clarified in a news release that he was a teacher but declined to provide a grade level or school.

"We are deeply troubled to learn of the recent arrest of a teacher within our district," the school district said in the release. "We hold our employees to the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct. The safety and well-being of our students are our top priorities."

The Sheriff's Office said its investigators were made aware of the Google account on Tuesday by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The investigators obtained a search warrant based on the information provided by the center, and executed the warrant Wednesday morning.

After an interview, the Sheriff's Office said McKay was taken to the Bay County Jail and charged with 20 counts of possession of the sexual performance of a child. The Sheriff's Office said more charges are expected once all of the electronic devices from the residence are analyzed by detectives.

"At this time, there is no indication any of the material was produced by McKay," the Sheriff's Office said in the release. "It appears all material was downloaded from the internet over the course of the last few years."

The school district, in its release, said it was taking action to make sure McKay was no longer allowed on any campus in Bay County.

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"We want to assure our parents, students, and the community that we are fully cooperating with law enforcement authorities during their investigation," the district said.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Bay County school teacher charged with possessing child pornography