Teacher accused of driving 60 miles to meet with teenage girl for sex in Massachusetts
A teacher from a Dudley, Massachusetts school was in court Friday on charges he allegedly met up with a 14-year-old girl in Taunton for sex.
Thomas Wilson, 37, was arrested in Taunton last month and has been charged with child pornography, enticing a child younger than 16 and reckless endangerment of a child. He's being held on $10,000 bail.
According to prosecutors, Wilson met the girl online and the two had been communicating for about a month. He allegedly drove 60 miles to meet up with her and police said the girl's father and brother pulled him out of his car when they saw the teen inside with him. The girl wasn't hurt and is expected to be OK.
Wilson allegedly told police he met the girl through Reddit after seeing what he described as "concerning posts" she made about wanting to date older men. Police said Wilson told them he thought the girl was 18.
When police searched Wilson's phone, they allegedly found hundreds of disturbing videos and texts. Prosecutors said they included chats, messages and videos showing child pornography material.
Wilson is a band teacher at Shepherd Hill Regional High School in Dudley and he's since been placed on administrative leave. The district's superintendent released a statement, saying, "To our knowledge, and through ongoing collaboration with law enforcement, we have been made aware of any connection between these charges and Dudley-Charlton students or staff."
"Urge the parents to talk to their kids," said Dudley Police Chief Marek Karlowicz. "And if there's anything they want to report to the police, I encourage them to call the police so we can look into it."
Wilson is due back in court in November for a probable cause hearing.