CPS teacher charged with owning and distributing child pornography: feds

A Chicago Public Schools teacher was scheduled to appear before a judge Friday, accused of owning and distributing child pornography, federal officials announced Friday.

Jaron Woodsley, 27, charged with receiving and distributing child pornography, allegedly shared images of child pornography last fall with another individual on Telegram, according to a statement from the U. S. attorney's office in Chicago.

Woodsley, of Chicago, was arrested Friday morning and was scheduled to appear for a hearing at 2 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez.

Using Telegram, Woodsley distributed at least thirteen videos and received six videos from the other individual, who was indicted by a federal grand jury in Colorado last year, the statement said.

Between Sept. 20 and Sept. 24, 2024, Woodsley and the individual allegedly messaged each other over Telegram, according to a criminal complaint.

According to the complaint, some of the alleged messages exchanged between the two said:

"Got any boys?"

"few hbu."

"Same. Wanna trade?"

Citing publicly available data, the complaint said that Woodsley is a Chicago Public School teacher at Elementary School A, and is also a staff member at the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra.

A CPS representative and a representative for the orchestra did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

If convicted, Woodsley faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in a federal prison and a maximum of 20 years, according to the U. S. attorney's office.