A middle school teacher from DeSoto Central Middle School in Southaven, Mississippi, has been arrested and charged with child exploitation. Stephen Taylor Hart, named by authorities, was brought into custody following a complaint that surfaced against him, alleging he made inappropriate comments towards a student, a report from Action News 5 confirmed.
The Southaven Police Department (SPD) acted on the complaint received on Monday, and their investigation swiftly led to Hart's arrest the following day, FOX13 Memphis reported Hart is facing two counts of child exploitation as officers believed the nature of the comments warranted these charges the SPD did not release further details about the nature of the comments or the student involved.
Information on the school's marching band website prior to the arrest listed Hart as their assistant band director, a detail that has since been scrutinized in light of the allegations brought forth. While the SPD has maintained that the investigation is ongoing, comment from the DeSoto County District Attorney's Office was sought, and they issued a brief statement, "The DA’s office is aware of the Tyler Hart arrest, but we defer questions to the Southaven Police Department as they continue their investigation. This is a developing situation, and we cannot comment further until after we receive a file from the Southaven PD," the DA's office told WREG News.
