Police: Wisconsin sex offender charged after soliciting explicit photos from Carroll students

A Wisconsin sex offender has been arrested and faces multiple charges related to child pornography after a Carroll County Public Schools student reported that he tried to solicit explicit photographs of her on social media.A Manchester Valley High School student in late September reported to school administration that an unknown individual, claiming to be a fellow local student, had been contacting her via Snapchat, requesting that she send him photos of herself, according to the Carroll County Sheriff&#8217;s Office.Administrators involved Deputy Kyle Barget, the on-duty school resource officer, who determined several students from county schools had received similar messages and requests.Detective Jill Bankard of the Carroll County Child Advocacy and Investigation Center was able to identify the owner of the Snapchat account sending the messages, and traced the account to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Detectives from the Sheriff&#8217;s Office then contacted Wisconsin authorities who continued the investigation.On Oct. 25, a search warrant was executed on the Wisconsin home of David D. Drummond, 35, who is a registered sex offender.Drummond is charged in Wisconsin with 10 counts of possession of child pornography, three counts of solicitation of child pornography from juveniles from Maryland and one count of violating the terms of sex offender registration, according to the Sheriff&#8217;s Office.No charges are expected to be placed in Maryland, according to the Sheriff&#8217;s Office. However, the Wisconsin investigation is ongoing and additional charges could be placed against Drummond there.Carroll County Sheriff Jim DeWees said the response was &#8220;a good example of the administration, SRO and the student body having enough trust in one another [for the student] to approach the deputy and confide that this was taking place.&#8221;He praised the student for bringing her concerns forward because it potentially prevented future predatory acts.&#8220;It was smart and brave of her to do,&#8221; he said.The youngest Carroll student Drummond allegedly requested photos from was middle-school age.Steve Lockard, superintendent of Carroll County Public Schools, in an interview with the Carroll County Times, said CCPS values the partnership with DeWees and the Sheriff&#8217;s Office as it relates to the school resource officer program.DeWees has been particular about the officers hired for the schools, because the officer needs to be a good match and someone who can build trust and rapport with the students and school community, Lockard said.Lockard said in this case, the student did exactly what they were supposed to &#8212; they went to a trusted adult when something didn&#8217;t look or feel right. Because a school resource officer was in-house, he said, they were immediately able to get the ball moving on the investigation.&#8220;One of the biggest reasons why we have our officers there is for the immediate safety,&#8221; he said, but the hope is that there is never a crisis situation to deal with.This situation is the perfect example of being proactive and responsive as opposed to reactive to something that&#8217;s already happened, Lockard said.&#8220;The faster this case was resolved, the lower the potential of other students throughout the nation ... it minimized the potential exposure,&#8221; Duane Williams, CCPS supervisor of school security and emergency management, said.Having SROs in the school system allows things to happen faster, he added.&#8220;The sooner we know, the quicker we can respond to [an incident],&#8221; Lockard said.The Sheriff's Office warned both parents and students to be aware that this individual was posing as a student, and to remind youths to be cautious communicating with people they don't know on social media, particularly if the conversation turns to sex or physical details. Any suspicious or persistent individual should be reported to a parent, school staff or police.

Police: Wisconsin sex offender charged after soliciting explicit photos from Carroll students

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