A local school administrator has been arrested on charges related to soliciting sexual acts from a child.
Keith Allen Williams, the chief financial and operations officer at Jefferson Schools, was arraigned Wednesday in Monroe County District Court on four felony charges: single counts of child abusive commercial activity and accosting children for immoral purposes and two similar counts of using a computer to communicate with another person to commit a crime. One of the counts of using a computer to communicate with another person to commit a crime has a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison because it is related to the child sexually abusive activity charge, which also has a 20-year maximum penalty. The other computer-related charge has a maximum penalty of 4 years because it is related to the accosting charge, which also has a 4-year maximum penalty.
Williams has a probable cause conference scheduled for May 23 and a preliminary examination on May 30, both before District Judge Amanda L. Eicher.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Violent Internet and Predator Exploitation Response (VIPER) Task Force also arrested another man Tuesday. Domanique Raji Berry, 33, of Toledo is charged with the same offenses as Williams. He has a probable cause conference scheduled for May 17 and a preliminary examination on May 23.
Bond for each defendant was set at $500,000.
VIPER was conducting a human trafficking prevention operation when they encountered Williams, 30, of Monroe. During the operation, the sheriff’s office said in a news release, Williams solicited sexual acts from a law enforcement officer posing online as a 14-year-old child.
Through further investigation, it was learned Williams is employed by Jefferson Schools, the release said.
“The Jefferson Schools Administration was made aware of the arrest immediately on the morning of May 10,” the release said.
“Jefferson Schools was recently advised that a District employee has been arrested for an alleged violation of Michigan law,” Jefferson Superintendent Nelson Henry said in a letter sent to the Jefferson community Wednesday. “The employee will be placed on non-disciplinary, paid administrative leave pending further investigation into this off-duty conduct. Moreover, the District will work cooperatively with law enforcement agencies and take all necessary steps to ensure that the school environment is not disrupted during this time.
“The District, in conjunction with the Board of Education, wants to reiterate its commitment to the school community by providing a safe environment for all its students and staff. Consistent with this objective, the Board will continue to support the efforts of District administrators to comply with existing legal requirements.”
Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough created VIPER with the goal of arresting offenders who seek to commit sex-related crimes against children, the release said. It has since expanded its goal to combat all forms of human trafficking regardless of the age of the victim or the nature of the sex-related crime.
Goodnough reminds parents to keep track of the social media sites their children visit as a precaution to safeguard them, the release said.
Anyone with information regarding human trafficking and criminal sexual assault crimes is asked to call the VIPER hotline at 734-240-7535.
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