An elementary school teacher is facing felony charges after admitting he downloaded hundreds of images and videos of very young children being sexually assaulted.
Kody Caleb Smith, 35, was charged with three counts of possessing child pornography videos depicting sexual assaults of minors, a first-degree felony punishable by 25 years to life in prison.
Smith taught physical education at Bayshore Elementary School in La Porte Independent School District.
He was charged last week but is not yet in custody.
According to a complaint filed March 5, a year-long investigation involving the Houston Police Department and Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force led investigators to execute a search warrant at Smith’s Seabrook residence on January 29 and question the teacher.
The La Porte Police Department issued a statement on March 11 describing their role in the investigation and the discovery of “77 files/videos of child pornography” downloaded by Smith at his La Porte residence before he moved to Seabrook.
Smith admitted to investigators that he had downloaded and viewed about 200 files of child sexual abuse material over the past three years using the social media app Kik.
Investigators reviewed some of the files and found they contained images of prepubescent children and infants “with their genitalia exposed” and “engaged in sexual acts with adults.”
Investigators also found that Smith had “access to three small children who appeared to be his.”
The Harris County District Attorney’s office has requested bail in the amount of $100,000 and other bond conditions.
Principal Tami King notified Bayshore Elementary parents on January 30 that a “former staff member” was “under investigation by local authorities for a serious matter that took place outside of school.”
King did not identify Smith by name and said the district did not believe that any La Porte ISD students were involved.
District officials have not yet responded to a request for comment on the recently released charges against Smith.
State records show Smith’s teaching certificate is currently under review by the Texas Education Agency.
In just the past few years, hundreds of Texas teachers have been accused of sex crimes involving students and other children, including possessing, producing, and distributing child sexual abuse material.
