A former Hardin Independent School District administrator has been indicted on two counts of possessing child pornography.
Chad Dwight Barrett, 56, was a principal at Hardin Junior High School when he was arrested last November following an investigation that found he sent a student an inappropriate video.
Investigators with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office discovered pictures and videos on Barrett’s cell phone containing child sexual abuse material.
A Liberty County grand jury indicted Barrett on May 7. The charges against him are third-degree felonies punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison.
Barrett has been certified as a teacher and principal since 2006. His current certificate is under review by the Texas Education Agency.
According to his LinkedIn page, Barrett previously worked as an athletic trainer for Pasadena ISD from 2018-2021 and as a Liberty ISD high school principal from 2013-2018.
Another Hardin ISD educator, teacher Jahmall Le’Sean Thomas, was arrested last year and charged with improper relationship between educator and student after he allegedly had sex with a girl from a neighboring school district in the back of his car.
Barrett and Thomas are among hundreds of Texas school employees accused of sex crimes involving students and other children in just the past few years.
Thousands of cases of educator sexual misconduct have been reported to the state since the TEA began keeping organized records in 2021.
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