Thankfully, most criminals are stupid

[ladypanther]

http://www2.morganto...rno-ar-2358417/

This is a tragedy for the children involved.

A former third-grade elementary school teacher charged with sexually exploiting children has been linked to an international child pornography ring, authorities say.

Michael Andrew Alexander, 54, of N. Meadows St., Glen Alpine appeared in court Thursday surrounded by a guard of 12 Burke County deputies after concerns arose regarding the suspect’s safety in public.

Alexander was made aware of the nine felony counts of sexual exploitation and indecent liberties with children leveled against him and was provided a court-appointed attorney.

After the court set a probable cause hearing for July 3, Alexander was secured under a $1 million bond and confined in an undisclosed location.

In a press release issued by the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement authorities stated that Alexander’s arrest was the result of an international investigation with its roots across the Atlantic in a Spanish child pornography takedown.

Videos and photographs discovered in the possession of Barcelona man Javier Alvarez Varela lead Europol agents to contact the U.S. Embassy with information regarding several pornographic videos that appeared to originate in the United States.

According to Burke County Sheriff Steve Whisenant, Europol informed federal agents about a number of films depicting young female children wearing Hildebran, N.C., T-shirts.

Scenes and dialogue from the tapes led investigators to the Hildebran Elementary School third-grade teacher, who was relieved of his duties Wednesday night.

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation began questioning Alexander and those close to him Tuesday afternoon, confiscating computers from the suspect’s home and classroom.

Federal agents, along with officers from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and Burke County Sheriff’s Department, arrested Alexander the following day.

According to Whisenant, Alexander has been cooperating with authorities to some extent, providing information concerning those involved and the purpose of his sexually explicit videos.

The films in question depict a number of young girls from 4 to 11-years old performing sexual acts on one another and with what has been described by authorities as an adult male.

Videos confiscated in Barcelona and at Alexander’s Glen Alpine home have been alleged to be part of an international child pornography ring.

“He’s been getting child pornography from Spain and he’s been involved in sending some photographs and videos to Spain,” Whisenant said.

Despite the large scale of the alleged crime, those closest to Alexander were unaware of any cause for suspicion.

According to the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, unbeknownst to Alexander’s family and co-workers, many of the videos were filmed in classrooms at Hildebran Elementary and at Alexander’s own home.

Alexander, who is married with two children of his own, has worked within the Burke County Public Schools system for 12 years but has never been suspected of any criminal activity.

[NanuqoftheNorth]

That was extremely disturbing.

Shocked that a male teacher could film a group of young girls committing sexual acts in a classroom without anyone catching them. Can't recall ever going to a teachers home as a child much less alone. Should have been a lot of red flags showing up here.

Including school T-shirts in the films tells me this guy wasn't a criminal mastermind. Makes me wonder about his co-workers that failed to notice anything amiss for so many years.