A teacher who worked in the Mesquite Independent School District was sentenced to 30 years in state prison after pleading guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material.
Chad Michael Beery, 42, was arrested in November 2025 and charged with possessing child pornography (10-50 images), a first-degree felony, and possessing visual material depicting sexual assault, a third-degree felony.
On August 6, Beery entered a guilty plea to the more serious charge, which involved images of children subjected to sexual conduct.
Judge Brett Hall of the 382nd District Court in Rockwall County then ordered Beery to serve 30 years in a Texas prison.
At the time of his arrest, Beery was an Academy Option teacher at Mesquite Academy, an “untraditional” school for students in grades 8 through 12.
A district spokeswoman told Texas Scorecard in November that Mesquite ISD was unaware of any allegations prior to hiring Beery and that he would not be returning.
Beery had taught in Mesquite ISD since 2018, the same year he received a certificate to teach math and special education.
The State Board for Educator Certification indefinitely suspended Beery’s certification in February and put him on “not eligible for hire” status.
A state law passed last year requires SBEC to temporarily suspend teaching credentials of educators arrested for certain felonies and add them to the Do Not Hire Registry, keeping them out of classrooms while the cases against them are prosecuted.
In just the past few years, hundreds of Texas educators have been accused of sex crimes involving students and other minors—including possessing, producing, and distributing child sex abuse material.
