Former Pender County teacher facing child pornography charges

A Pender County Schools teacher resigned his position Thursday after he was arrested and charged in connection with multiple child sex crimes.

According to a news release from the Town of Leland, 39-year-old Parker Brown was arrested by Leland police Thursday morning. The elementary school teacher faces six counts of second degree sexual exploitation of a minor,one count of third degree sexual exploitation of a minor for the possession of child pornography, andone count of possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Leland police.

According to Pender County Schools, Brown was a fifth-grade teacher at C.F. Pope Elementary School. Upon receiving word of his arrest, the district suspended Brown from his position. He resigned shortly after on Thursday.

Brown was hired by Pender County Schools in August 2012, according to employment records released by the district in compliance with North Carolina state law. He had a salary of just over $51,000 when he resigned.

He worked at Malpass Corner Elementary School in Burgaw before transferring to Pope Elementary in 2021. The reasoning for the voluntary transfer is unclear.

Brown’s record with the school district was clean, according to the information released by the district.

The district had no recorded demotions or suspensions aside from his suspension after he was arrested, just before he resigned. No further information was available from officials.

Law enforcement said the charges are not related to Brown's work as an educator and Pender County Schools students are not among Brown's alleged victims.

"According to law enforcement, Mr. Brown uploaded and shared images of a minor," Pender County Schools said in a news release Thursday. "Based on current information from law enforcement, there is no indication that Pender County Schools students were included in the shared images."

Jamey Cross is the public safety reporter at the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter @jameybcross.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Pender County Schools teacher facing child pornography charges resigns