Teacher Faces Child Porn Charges

Alabama Escambia County A local teacher is arrested on drug charges then busted for child pornography during a search of his home.

by Jessica Taloney

Published: Wed, February 11, 2009 - 6:30 pm CST Last Updated: Wed, February 11, 2009 - 7:45 pm CST

Larry Tindell had little to say as he walked handcuffed into the courtroom.

Tindell, a special education teacher at W.S. Neal High School in East Brewton and instructor at Jefferson Davis Community College, was arrested Tuesday on a Grand Jury indictment for giving Loratab to a 19 year old. Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith says the investigation began months ago after they received tips that Tindell had also given the drug to other teenagers, though only one charge has been filed.

Tindell's trouble got even worse Wednesday morning when investigators executed a search warrant at his home. According to Chief Mike Lambert, who lead the search, investigators found pictures of boys and girls under the age of 17.

"It's always disturbing when a person of trust is accused of these sort of things," says Sheriff Smith. "We believe they are correct and true or we wouldn't have brought these charges."

Investigators believe the pictures were ordered online or from a magazine, and they do not appear to involve any local children.

A search warrant was also executed at Tindell's office at the high school. No pictures were found, but investigators confiscated his computer, which has been turned over to the FBI.

Tindell's bond is set at $425,000 for three counts of child pornography, one count of distrubuting a controlled substance and one count of posessing a controlled substance.

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