James Stewart Carroll, the former head of school at the National Child Research Center in Cleveland Park, has agreed to plead guilty to attempted receipt of child pornography, a plea deal that comes with a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence and at least 25 years of mandatory sex-offender registration. The preschool serves children ages 2 to 5, and Carroll's case traces back to an undercover FBI sting nearly two years ago.
From Preschool Leader to Federal Defendant
According to WJLA, the plea agreement also calls for forfeiture of a phone and includes a stipulated removal order, with sentencing scheduled for March 4, 2027. Carroll was arrested in November 2024 after communicating with an undercover officer who was posing online as the father of a child, police said at the time, and records show Carroll asked the officer to abuse his child over a two-week period and describe the abuse to him.
Carroll was initially charged with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, a count distinct from the attempted receipt of child pornography charge named in the plea agreement reported by the station. As reported by the-independent.com, the criminal complaint alleged Carroll believed he was speaking with the father of a 9-year-old boy, who was in fact an undercover FBI agent, and that Carroll encouraged the agent to sexually abuse the fictitious child and send him footage of it.
Discord Activity Traced to Home and School
Investigators said Carroll used Discord in connection with the case, and the same Independent report notes that a second IP address tied to the Discord account — one used to access it “numerous times” over the course of a year — was traced back to the National Child Research Center itself. The criminal complaint against Carroll did not accuse him of targeting NCRC students or families, a distinction that has been noted in coverage of the case.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia announced Carroll's arrest on November 19, 2024, saying the then-55-year-old was taken into custody on a criminal complaint filed in federal court in connection with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, according to a statement from the agency. A federal court docket reviewed by PACER Monitor shows an indictment against Carroll listing two counts along with a forfeiture allegation.
What the Plea Deal Means Going Forward
Under District of Columbia law, the agency responsible for the sex-offender registry is authorized to maintain and operate that registry and to retain the information collected on registered offenders, according to the D.C. Law Library. Carroll's plea agreement, as outlined by the station's reporting, would place him on that registry for a minimum of 25 years once his sentence concludes. The full text of the plea agreement — including any detailed factual admissions or guideline calculations — has not been made public, and it remains unclear whether Carroll has formally entered the guilty plea in court or whether a judge has accepted the agreement.
Sentencing is set for March 4, 2027, under the terms described in the plea deal. Until then, the mandatory minimum five-year prison term and the stipulated removal order stand as the publicly known consequences Carroll has agreed to face, pending the formal court proceedings still ahead.
