Alarming Trend: Four University Professors Arrested in 10 Days on Charges Related to Appalling Material
In a deeply disturbing trend we’ve reported on, not one, not two, not three, but four college professors have been arrested within the last 10 days on charges related to child sexual abuse material, which we referred to in our video as “those videos” or “the bad stuff”. This is a hit rate that we believe warrants serious attention and raises questions about the prevalence of such offenses in academia.
Just in the last week alone, we saw three professors arrested for this exact same thing. The timeframe is shocking.
Here’s what we learned about the individual cases:
- Texas Professor Arrested While Material Allegedly Played on TV: Zire Mashur Hadid, a Texas college professor and self-described social justice advocate, was arrested. According to prosecutors and court papers we cited, Hadid allegedly had one of these sick videos playing on his TV at the moment federal agents raided his home. The clip reportedly had been sent to him via Telegram, an encrypted cloud-based messaging app. Feds allege Hadid would then store this material in the Telegram app on his phone. A probe determined that links Hadid was accessing often led to virtual Zoom meetings where these types of videos would allegedly be livereamed. Hadid, who we reported was nabbed last Tuesday, has since been charged with one count of possession and one count of knowingly accessing with intent to view such material. At the time of his arrest, Hadid was an assistant professor of interdisciplinary studies and curriculum and instruction at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). His biography described him as a teacher, educator, and social justice advocate. We noted his name, Zire Mashur Hadid, and also his background as a doctoral student at the University of Nevada before joining UTSA. If convicted, Hadid faces up to 20 years in prison. UTSA did not respond to inquiries. We found it interesting that the source mentioned his social justice advocacy and speculated if he might be one of those who advocates for certain terms.
- JMU Professor Placed on Leave After Arrest: In the same week, we reported on a professor at James Madison University (JMU) who was placed on leave after being arrested for possessing the same type of videos. William Van Norman, a 68-year-old from Charlottesville, was taken into custody last Tuesday following a search warrant based on a February tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force about his having these videos. Van Norman was charged with one count of possession and two counts of second or subsequent violations. According to court records and the university spokesperson, Van Norman is an associate professor of history and chair of the Latin American and Caribbean studies program at JMU. JMU stated they were aware of the charges and that the individual has been placed on leave, which we speculated was likely paid leave.
- ASU Professor Accused of Arranging Meeting with Undercover Officer: Also within the last seven to eight days, an Arizona State University (ASU) professor, Shyu Woo, was arrested. According to court documents, Woo is accused of arranging for relations with an undercover police officer posing as a teen. The officer reportedly used altered photos utilizing age regression in the investigation. Woo was arrested on April 18th when he allegedly arranged to meet the undercover officer. He is being held on a $100,000 bond. Woo has been placed on administrative leave and prohibited from accessing the campus or engaging in ASU activities while the university takes action. ASU issued a statement saying they were unable to offer additional comment as it involves an active personnel matter, which we commented felt like a “copout”. We noted his name, Shyu Woo, and the source mentioning “another American is apple pie,” referring to the names.
- Clemson Professor Arrested on 10 Counts: Adding to this alarming number, we covered another professor who was arrested at Clemson University just 10 days ago. Jeffrey Douglas Townsen, a sports management professor, was arrested on Wednesday for 10 counts of “going after someone he shouldn’t”. According to the sheriff’s office, their investigation revealed Townsen was using a chat room to access thousands of contacts related to the “spiciest of content” involving individuals it shouldn’t involve. Detectives connected Townsen to more than 20 uploads of this material dating back to last November. Clemson University released a statement indicating they cooperated with law enforcement.
Considering these four arrests of college professors in such a short span – three in the last week alone and four in the last 10 days – we believe this rate suggests a potentially much larger problem. Based on this percentage, we feel you could likely find many other professors involved in this “nonsense”.
This is why we believe we need a comprehensive investigation into all professors at all universities. If you extrapolate this hit rate, it could mean there are hundreds more, not just a few. We couldn’t say we were surprised, but we admitted we were still a little surprised by these findings. We also expressed our long-held suspicion that the US government has back doors into protected apps like Telegram.
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