Bay County schoolteacher arrested on child pornography charges commits suicide, police say

DeonTay Smith, Panama City News Herald
Updated ·2 min read
20

BAY COUNTY − A Bay County schoolteacher arrested on charges of possessing child pornography has killed himself, according to the Lynn Haven police department.

Chad Everett Wallis, 45, of 803 Carolina Ave., Lynn Haven, was arrested last week on child pornography possession charges, according to an April 19 post on the police department's Facebook page. It did not specify the number of charges or details of the alleged crime. Nor did it specify the date of his arrest.

Chad Everett Wallis, a teacher A. Gary Walsingham Academy, committed suicide after being arrested on charges of possessing child pornography.
Chad Everett Wallis, a teacher A. Gary Walsingham Academy, committed suicide after being arrested on charges of possessing child pornography.

“This arrest followed a CyberTip forwarded from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,” the post said.

On Thursday, Lynn Haven police confirmed to the News Herald that Wallis had committed suicide after being release from the Bay County Jail on $50,000 bond. On Friday, the Bay County Sheriff's Office said it happened Tuesday at 5427 Gulf Drive in Panama City shortly after 7 p.m.

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Wallis was a teacher at A. Gary Walsingham Academy in Panama City Beach, according to news reports. Walsingham's website says it serves students in kindergarten through fourth grade and is "home to all of the pre-kindergarten programs for the beach schools."

Bay District Schools issued a statement on April 19, saying it received word of the arrest on April 18. It did not identify Wallis in the statement or say what school and grade he taught.

"At this time, this is an ongoing investigation, which means we cannot comment or provide details on this specific situation," the statement said. "However, we do want our community to know that the safety and well-being of our students are our top priorities, and we take any allegations involving staff members very seriously."

On Friday, responding to an inquiry from the News Herald, Bay District Schools declined to provide any other details or comment.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Chad Everett Wallis committed suicide in the Bay County Jail. His death came after his release from jail, according to sheriff's officials.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Bay county schoolteacher arrested in Lynn Haven days before suicide