Missouri teacher charged with sexually exploiting girl

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri high school teacher was charged after allegedly blackmailing a 14-year-old girl to force her to send him sexually explicit photos and videos, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Brandon Lane McCullough, 31, of Branson, Missouri, was charged in a criminal complaint with sexual exploitation of a minor, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri.

His defense attorney did not immediately return a message left at the public defender's office.

McCullough was formerly a business teacher at Cassville High School and had accepted a position at Hollister High School for next year.

Prosecutors allege McCullough posed as a 15-year-old boy when he began chatting via Kik with the girl in May 2019. He is accused of threatening to send sexually explicit images to the girl's family and friends, demanding additional images and videos.

On Thursday, law enforcement officers executing a search warrant at McCullough's home seized an external hard drive containing dozens of Kik chats as well as images and videos that were self-produced by child victims.

Prosecutors allege McCullough told officers he could not recall how many minors he had chatted with or how often he had done it because he engaged in the conduct so frequently.