A Gloucester County, New Jersey, grand jury has indicted James M. Adams from Washington Township. Adams is a 50-year-old third-grade teacher from Dr. William Mennies Elementary School in Vineland. Investigators say he engaged in highly inappropriate online behavior with a 14-year-old girl in Bogotá, Colombia. Once again, a person entrusted with the safety of children is accused of doing the exact opposite.
The case began in June when investigators traced online messages containing CSAM back to Adams’ home. Detectives executed a search warrant and seized several electronic devices, including one matching the device identified in the original reports. According to prosecutors, Adams made statements acknowledging that he had received CSAM through social media.
What pushed the investigation further was Adams’ use of Kik, a messaging app known for its anonymity. Kik allows users to create accounts without a phone number and communicate in private or semi-private channels, features that have repeatedly made it a hotspot in criminal investigations. It’s also the hunting grounds of sex offenders, pedophiles, CSAM collectors, and child traffickers.
During a forensic review, detectives uncovered conversations between Adams and the teen, including one message where he told her to “look right at me and tell me you love me.”
Metadata from video files on Adams’ phone matched timestamps from the chats provided by Kik. Prosecutors also revealed that nearly 60 messages tied to his account originated from an IP address belonging to the school district where Adams worked. So while he’s teaching kids, he’s dreaming of Colombian children.
The alleged conduct occurred between March and June. Adams was initially charged with possession and distribution of CSAM before prosecutors added a first-degree endangering charge. During a July hearing, the assistant prosecutor described additional conversations on Kik in which Adams and another user discussed seeking out girls and exchanging CSAM. None of the content was ever connected to attempts at in-person meetings, but that hardly lessens the seriousness of the behavior being alleged.
Adams’ attorney tried to downplay the case as just “online sexting,” pointing to character letters and the fact that Adams had once been named staff member of the month. However, the central issue remains. A teacher, someone working with children at the elementary level, stands accused of using both his personal devices and, at times, a school district network to access and distribute CSAM. That is an extraordinary breach of trust.
Adams is currently free under strict conditions barring him from unsupervised contact with minors and from any internet access. At the judge’s request, his wife agreed to monitor him to ensure compliance. Wait, his wife? Sadly, I’ve seen too many instances of the wives of predators who will tolerate their husbands’ activities for the sake of ‘family.’
His next court hearing is scheduled for January 5.
The hardest part of these cases is how familiar the pattern has become. Schools are expected to be safe places. Parents expect teachers to protect their kids, not to show up in indictments involving online misconduct and teen victims halfway across the world.
And, as always, there’s no mention of this teacher being a drag queen.
(Source)
Real Crime with Trench Reynolds 
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