Special needs instructor at North Texas school charged with producing child pornography

FORT WORTH, Texas — A North Texas special needs instructor was arrested Friday and charged in a federal complaint with producing child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Mansfield ISD Police Department, the Mansfield Police Department and the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office are investigating this case.

Kelly Dan Williams, 62, a special needs instructor at Mansfield (Texas) Independent School District’s (ISD) Mary Orr Intermediate School was arrested Friday on the federal offense.  He made his initial appearance June 15 in federal court in Fort Worth where U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton ordered that Williams remain in federal custody pending a probable cause and detention hearing set for Wednesday morning.

According to the filed complaint, on June 1, 2015, an individual at Mary Orr Intermediate School observed Williams performing a sex act on an 11-year-old male student in a school bathroom stall.  This individual reported this to the school’s administration, and Williams was directed to report to the Human Resources office.

During the course of an investigation, Mansfield Police obtained a search warrant for Williams’ residence, where they seized electronic storage devices, to include a computer secure digital (SD) memory card.  A forensic examination revealed that a video located on the SD card depicted Williams performing a sex act on a minor male, who appears to be younger than age 12, in what appears to be a school bathroom stall.  Further forensic analysis indicates that the video was created on or about Feb. 3, 2010.

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge.  A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.  The maximum statutory penalty for the offense as charged is not less than 15 years, or more than 30 years, in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.

Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem, Northern District of Texas, is prosecuting this case.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.