Teacher Who Sexually Abused 80 Children Sentenced To Prison
Former Kansas teacher Jeffrey Pierce was sentenced to spend 30 years in prison after soliciting at least 80 local children to send him pornographic images and videos.
Teachers are getting plenty of bad rep today, and the fact that an alarming rate of educators are being charged with sex crimes isn’t helping any. What’s more, the internet and social media have exacerbated issues with child pornography. With these two worlds colliding, former Kansas teacher Jeffrey Pierce will now serve 30 years in prison for his crimes against 80 children, some of which were students in his district.
The United States Department of Justice released a memo on Thursday, September 22nd announcing the sentencing of Jeffrey Pierce. The sex offender was a ninth-grade social studies teacher and basketball coach at Seaman High School in Topeka, Kansas. Pierce would impersonate a young female on numerous social media platforms in order to lure minor males in his area to send explicit images and videos of themselves.
The pervasion latest for years. Altogether, authorities found evidence that he had solicited at least 80 minor children. All of them were local to his community, including some targets from within the high school where Jeffrey Pierce taught.
Thousands of images and videos were uncovered from his personal devices. One of his victims was a 15-year-old boy who attended the Seaman high school where Jeffrey Pierce served children. Oftentimes, he would stoop to threats in order to obtain more pornographic content, vowing to leak the images if the children didn’t keep sending him more.
According to reports from The Topeka Capitol-Journal, multiple families of Jeffrey Pierce’s victims were in attendance during his courtroom sentencing yesterday. One of his victims gave testimony, as did two mothers. The teen expressed vast embarrassment and disarray after what he experienced.
Confused and likely scarred by the event for the rest of his life, the boy said that he often tries to forget about what happened. One mother spoke directly to Jeffrey Peirce, calling him a “monster.” The other said he was a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
The former teacher also spoke at his hearing. He conveyed a sense of regret for what he had done. Additionally, he said that he was ready to accept his fate.
While Jeffrey Pierce pleaded his case, vowing that he was a changed man, most of the community and defense were not buying it. The prosecution noted the vast impact his illegal actions had on the community. They believe Pierce purposely targeted kids in the community because it gave him a sense of power over the people that trusted him.
A judge gave the former educator the maximum prison sentence, meaning the 42-year-old will be in his early 70s when he is released from prison. When out, he is required to spend the next five years under supervised release. Furthermore, Jeffrey Pierce is required to pay $55,000 in special assessments.
Cases of sexual extortion online are growing in frequency. Unfortunately, many of these cases involve authoritative perpetrators such as teachers. Today, it is important more than ever to not only educate children about online safety but also to warn them about the dangers of teachers like Jeffrey Pierce.
