COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A Coweta County elementary school teacher has been arrested on charges related to an investigation into the sexual exploitation of children.
Both the school system and the Coweta County Sheriff's Office's chief deputy, Col. James Yarbrough, told 11Alive that 53-year-old Noel Bryan Smith had been arrested on child pornography charges.
In a letter home to parents, Coweta County School System Superintendent Evan Horton said that administrators learned that a search warrant had been executed at the home and classroom of the fifth-grade teacher.
Smith was arrested and charged with three counts of child sexual exploitation with additional charges pending, sheriff's office investigator Toby Nix said.
A teacher at Willis Road Elementary School, Smith has been with the system since August 2001 and had worked as a teacher at that school since August 2002 a school spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that Smith had been placed on administrative leave as the Coweta County Sheriff's Office conducts its investigation. 11Alive is working to gather more jail booking information and obtain a booking photo. Nix said the investigation is still in the early stages and that more information would be made available as it is uncovered.
The school system is now asking anyone who has information that may be relevant to the investigation to call the sheriff's office at 770-253-1502.