Former South MS community college employee arrested for child exploitation, sheriff says
Authorities arrested a former Pearl River Community College employee on Tuesday on child exploitation charges, the sheriff’s department said.
Megan Leigh Boles was arrested Tuesday and charged with exploitation of children, the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release on Wednesday.
The sheriff’s department notified the college April 18 it was investigating Boles on child exploitation charges, Pearl River Community College said in a statement.
It is unclear what that investigation found. The sheriff’s department said it would release no other details “out of respect for the privacy, security, and healing process of the victims, and their families and/or guardians.”
Pearl River Community College said it “immediately” put Boles on administrative leave when authorities notified administrators of the investigation.
The school said it learned of Boles arrest on Tuesday and fired her.
“The alleged actions of Ms. Boles are not reflective of the values and standards upheld by Pearl River Community College,” the school said in the statement. “We at Pearl River Community College condemn all behavior that jeopardizes the safety and welfare of children, and we are committed to taking swift and decisive action to address this matter.”
Authorities took Boles into custody at the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday. The sheriff’s office said victims and their families and guardians have been notified and that investigators do not believe they will find additional victims.
Boles worked at Pearl River Community College since August 2020, according to Kari Eve Valence, the school’s director of marketing and recruitment. Valence said Boles started as a child development lab school assistant and was promoted in August 2022 to director of the child development lab school.
The school said it had no knowledge of Boles’ alleged wrongdoing before April 18.
It also said the sheriff’s department told school leaders that so far no evidence suggests the alleged crime occurred on the Pearl River Community College campus.
