West TN middle school worker busted with child pornography, group says
BENTON COUNTY, Tenn. — A former middle school employee has been arrested and charged after authorities allegedly found images of underaged children on his personal electronics.
“Please don’t do this. Please. I’m begging,” suspect Richard Merrell stated in a video captured by Predator Poachers Illinois.
Suspicious online behavior led one group to Benton County where they discovered a middle school maintenance man was allegedly engaging in illicit conversations with multiple minors.
“You’ve been talking to quite a few young, underage girls online and–”
“I get on Reddit,” Merrell stated.
Predator Poachers, a citizen’s group that attempts to catch sexual predators, posed as a decoy on Telegram, a messaging app.
They hacked 55-year-old Richard Brent Merrell’s phone and allegedly saw over 50 images of child pornography.
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When talking with Merrell at his residence, he admitted that he was having a hard time getting underaged girls to send pictures.
“Because I know you’ve been asking them, you’ve been asking quite a few of them for some *** and stuff,” a Predator Poachers representative told Merrell.
“Every time that I’ve asked–yeah–they said they were older,” Merrell said. “Well this one here and I got a couple. Now that–she won’t send nothing online. She said she won’t.”
Merrell admitted to possessing pornography, but insisted the participants were at least 18.
“What the *** you got the law coming up here for?” Merrell asked as a Sheriff’s Office vehicle approached his property.
When Benton County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene, Merrell became frantic.
He was later arrested without incident on Wednesday, August 20.
Merrell has worked in maintenance at Big Sandy School since 2017 and has since been terminated, according to Benton County Schools Director Mark Florence.
Benton County Sheriff Kenny Christopher states that all of the evidence is electronic and there is no indication that there is any direct contact or involvement with local children, despite Merrell’s close proximity to youth.
Merrell is being charged with a Class C felony and five counts of exploitation of a minor.
The Sheriff’s Office requests that anyone with information about the case reach out to their office at (731) 584-4632.
At the time of this report, Merrell remains in custody at the Benton County jail. Click here to view the current court documents associated with this case.
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