A female middle school teacher in Tennessee allegedly paid “special attention” to one of her students — even giving the young boy an iPad that was packed with nude images of herself, police said.
Kelsey Whitmore, 29, had only started working at the Sherwood Middle School in August when, shortly after, she began spoiling one of her male students — lauding him with gifts ranging from free meals to treatments at a local hair salon, court documents, obtained by WREG, claimed.
But her generosity wasn’t genuine as Whitmore was arrested last Friday after the boy’s mother reported finding the disturbing images on the tablet.
The boy’s mother admitted that she didn’t think much of the interest the teacher took in her son until the holidays when Whitmore gave him a phone and pink iPad for Christmas, court papers said.
Her suspicions led the mother to search the glitzy iPad on Feb. 9 — when the school was closed due to poor weather conditions — where she found a photo gallery full of explicit content, including primarily nude images of Whitmore.
It was then that the mother came to the jarring realization that Whitmore was likely grooming her son, court papers said.
The Memphis school placed the teacher on administrative leave the same day, Memphis-Shelby County Schools told WREG.
Whitmore claimed she gave the boy her personal iPad in October and admitted that she had captured the explicit content of herself, the outlet reported.
The disgraced teacher was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means.
She posted a $75,000 bond the following day and is scheduled to appear in court on March 4.
Whitmore also joins a growing list of alleged predator teachers in the Volunteer State.
A disgraced middle school teacher, who moonlighted as a soccer coach, audibly whimpered in court when he was slapped with a four-year prison sentence for planting a camera in a girls’ locker room and filming up one student’s skirt in 2024.
That same year, an elementary school teacher was sentenced to 25 years behind bars after she raped a 12-year-old boy – and became pregnant.
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