CLARKSVILLE (AP) — A former nurse at a Tennessee high school who had more than 700 illicit images of juvenile girls has been charged in federal court with attempted production of child pornography, authorities said.
Leon B. Hensley, 40, formerly of Clarksville, Tennessee, was arrested Thursday near his current home in Lake Wales, Florida, Acting U.S. Attorney Mary Jane Stewart for the Middle District of Tennessee said in a statement.
More than 40 victims are suspected to be students at North East High School in Clarksville and range in age from 12 to 17, the statement said. The images appear to have been taken by a hidden camera in a bathroom and caught girls in various stages of undress, authorities said.
Hensley worked at the school from August 2017 to November 2019. That's when police began investigating a report that Hensley had sent a photo of a nude woman to a juvenile and asked her to pose for photos, a criminal complaint said.
The Clarksville Police Department found several images on Hensley's phone that depicted the sexual exploitation of children and during a later search found numerous electronic devices, including a small covert video camera, the complaint said. The large volume of images led police to contact federal authorities, who conducted a more thorough forensic exam. Authorities said they found images of what appeared to be juveniles using the private student bathroom in the nurse's station at the high school and females in hospital exam rooms at Tennova Hospital in Clarksville, where Hensley was employed prior to his job at the school.
Hensley faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted, the U.S. Attorney said.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Hensley has an attorney. None was listed in federal court documents available online.