WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Washington County Sheriff's Office says they've never seen a case like this in the county to their knowledge.
Former high school theater teacher, 32-year-old Michael Dendy, is facing 21 child pornography charges.
He's accused of possessing, distributing, and producing child-porn material.
Investigator Cody Collier says that when complaints came into the Washington County Sheriff's Office about potential child exploitation at the high school, he didn't expect to find what he did.
Collier says they began their investigation back in December not knowing who the complaints were about.
“We worked the investigation and it was determined that we had a suspect which was Michael Allen Dendy. A complete shock,” he says.
The U.S. Department of Justice says Dendy enticed minors to engage in sexually explicit acts which were filmed or photographed.
He may have been involved with around 16 minors.
Sheriff Joel Cochran says some, but not all, were Washington County High students.
“You have a teacher that's supposed to take care of your children and teach them, and then they do the complete opposite,” Collier says.
Quinterrious Hall is a former Washington County High student.
“It caught us all by surprise,” Hall explains. "I've been out of school for some time; the teachers I had, they were great."
However, this was news to him.
“I'm sick to my stomach. I don't like stuff like that,” he says. “You could scar them. You could affect their whole life in the wrong turn."
Hall says he doesn't even have kids for this to feel wrong, but Jenny Josey does.
“My daughter is going into her senior year and my son is going into his eighth-grade year,” Josey says.
She says both her kids are involved in theater and the arts, so it hits hard.
“I think that it affects our children differently because it's the first time that they've seen someone that they trusted take advantage of them,” she explains.
Josey says while it's scary, they're glad he's been charged.
“I think that we knew it was coming and I hope that they put him under the prison.”
Meanwhile, Collier says the kids are doing okay, but…
“It hurts them in learning to have to trust people again,” he says.
Collier says all victims were offered counseling.
Dendy is currently being held at the Washington County Jail awaiting to be arraigned in federal court.
If you're a parent or guardian whose children may have encountered Dendy and have concerns, you can contact the Department of Homeland Security's investigations tip line at 1-866-347-2423.