Montgomery County school employee facing child pornography charges

SILVER SPRING, Md. - A Montgomery County school employee has been charged with possessing and distributing child porn.

Maryland State Police arrested the part-time lunch aide and local day care worker last Friday. He has been placed on administrative leave from Montgomery County Public Schools.

Sean Renfrew Kelley is charged with three counts of distribution of imagery of a minor engaged in sexual conduct and seven counts of possession of imagery of an individual under the age of 16 engaged in sexual conduct.

Police say in July, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children picked up on some suspicious activity involving child pornography from a computer at Kelley's home in Silver Spring. Police tracked the IP address and served a search warrant at his home early Friday morning where he was arrested.

Investigators say the pornographic images did not show pictures of any Montgomery County students.

The 30-year-old Silver Spring man was very active with kids in the community and worked at two elementary schools in the area as well as a church where he led activities for children.

Investigators say Kelley worked as a part-time lunch room aide at Cloverly Elementary School from Oct. 2016 to Sept. 2017. He also spent four days working at the Kids After Hours daycare program at Cannon Road Elementary School.

After Kelley's arrest, the principal of Cloverly Elementary School sent a letter home to parents saying in part, "These charges are extremely upsetting and distressing. The type of behavior does not reflect the principles of MCPS or our community and will not be tolerated."

The owner of Kids After Hours program said they did a diligent background check on Kelley before he was hired, but it came back clean.

Liberty Grove United Methodist Church said in a statement emailed to church members and read aloud in all three worship services on Sunday:

Dear Liberty Grove Church,

This is to inform you that a Liberty Grove part time staff person, Sean Kelley, was arrested Friday, January 5, 2018, on child pornography charges, specifically possession and distribution of digital images from the internet found on his computer. The images are thought to be commercial in nature and as far as we know, do not involve any child known to Liberty Grove United Methodist Church (LGUMC). As a result, Sean's employment with LGUMC was terminated immediately.

I and other Church leaders became aware of child pornography allegations in September 2017. Sean was immediately placed on a leave of absence from his position at the church. Leadership also made the decision at that time to keep the information confidential so that a fair and unbiased investigation could proceed.

As a Church, we take this arrest and these charges seriously. Providing a safe environment for everyone at our church, especially children, is our highest priority. We have and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement officials fully as they continue their investigation.

As a Church, we pray for Sean and his family. We seek compassion, justice, and healing for Sean.

Kelley's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 2.