Former Mooresville Middle School teacher faces more child porn charges

A former Mooresville Middle School teacher and coach is facing 44 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor after child pornography was found on his computer, according to the Statesville Record & Landmark.

Clarence Earl "Chip" Pickard III, of Mooresville, has been under investigation since 2014 and has been previously charged with sex crimes against minors, according to an October 2014 story in the Charlotte Observer.

Pickard resigned his teaching role Sept. 9, 2014, according to school officials. He taught physical education at the school and coached seventh-grade football and boys’ basketball.

Arrest warrants obtained this week by the Statesville Record & Landmark revealed Pickard possessed and duplicated images in 2013 depicting graphic sexual acts performed by child of 13 or 14. The images appeared to have been taken with a cell phone in a bathroom, the Statesville Record & Landmark reported.

Mooresville investigators said 22 such images were found and each image represented one count of sexual exploitation of a minor in the second degree and one count in the third degree, it was reported. Both charges are felonies.

Only one victim was is known at this time, but the child’s identity remains unclear, it was reported.

Pickard was served the warrants on Friday and given a $1 million secured bond, it was reported.

This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 7:50 AM with the headline "Former Mooresville Middle School teacher faces more child porn charges."