WDEF News 12

Ben Walker worked as student teacher in the first and fifth grade classes at Monteagle Elementary School until he arrested on child pornography charges this past Friday.

Marion County School Superintendent Mark Griffith explained what happened:  "He was escorted out of the school on Friday somewhere around 2:00pm by the Winchester Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Middle Tennessee State University student would have gotten his teaching certificate in a few months.

"He underwent a background check by the FBI, TBI and the NCIC by the Marion County Board of Education as well as one he went through by Middle Tennessee State University and it all came back clear," said Griffith.  "An interview process didn't get it. Unfortunately it's not stamped on their foreheads. It's just something you have to put trust in."

IT specialists checked every computer at the school and did not find anything. The child pornography images were all found on Walker's personal computer in his Franklin County home.

The FBI operation was so hush-hush some parents didn't know anything about it until today when they read about it in the school newsletter.

Dewayne Rollins has a daughter at Monteagle Elementary.  "She gets out early, I walk in and sign her out. I mean it was just shocking to me to walk in surprised," he said of learning about what happened.

The teachers Walker worked with were blind-sided, too.

Alicia Fagin has a daughter in one of Walker's Classes.  "It's just a shame that people are like that in this world and we've got some good police officers that managed to catch him before something bad happened to our children," she said.

The Board of Education held an informational meeting for parents Monday morning at the Monteagle Library.