MEDINA, Ohio — WARNING: This story contains graphic and disturbing details. Reader discretion is advised.
3News is learning more about the allegations surrounding a Medina High School social studies teacher who was placed on leave amid an "open FBI investigation."
A criminal complaint filed in United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio outlines multiple charges against 37-year-old Kevin Hedrick, of New Franklin. Specifically, Hedrick is accused of attempting to meet up with a 14-year-old girl for sex, as well as possessing several videos and images of child pornography.
Investigators say they first made contact with Hedrick last October in a chatroom for the social media website Kik. According to the filing, Hedrick was going under the alias "Mike Smith" and believed he was talking to the mother of two girls when, in fact, he was actually messaging an undercover U.S. Secret Service agent.
The messages included in the complaint show "Mike Smith" asking "Megan" about her two daughters, ages 5 and 14, and the conversation quickly turned to sex. On multiple occasions between Oct. 3 and Oct. 19, Hedrick allegedly described in graphic detail various illegal sex acts he wanted to perform on both girls, and the pair discussed meeting up for him to have sex with the 14-year-old daughter.
Following the final conversation on Oct. 19, investigators matched partial images "Mike Smith" sent with those of Hedrick, and IP addresses later traced back to Hedrick's cell phone as well as the Medina City Schools Wi-Fi. Once authorities accessed Hedrick's apparent Kik account, they discovered hundreds of videos and images involving children in a "sexually explicit nature," including at least one video of a girl as young as 7 years old.
The school district placed Hedrick on paid administrative leave on Oct. 24, and two days later the FBI says he admitted to having the conversation on Kik with the undercover agent. Hedrick further told officials he had consistently downloaded and deleted the app to and from his phone "because he did not want his wife to find out about his conversations."
The Department of Justice has not released details regarding possible court dates for Hedrick. Medina school administrators have not commented publicly on the case since announcing Hedrick's leave.