A director of an upscale preschool in Washington, D.C., originally from Britain, was taken into custody on Tuesday morning for allegedly attempting to solicit explicit sexual abuse videos of a 9-year-old boy through the child’s father, who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent.
James Stewart Carroll, the head of school at the National Child Research Center, has been charged with one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, as revealed in a criminal complaint that was unsealed on Tuesday morning in federal court in D.C.
The complaint reveals deeply troubling details regarding Carroll’s purported online discussions, which include topics such as “child sexual exploitation, circumcision of teenage boys, [and] urinating on teenage boys and adults.”
Patricia Hartman, a representative for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, stated in an email that Carroll was arrested earlier today and informed The Independent that he was set to make his first court appearance shortly after 3 p.m.
The annual tuition at NCRC is nearly $42,000, and it holds the title of being “the oldest continuously operating preschool in the District of Columbia,” as stated on Carroll’s page on the NCRC website, which remained active as of Tuesday afternoon.
“At NCRC, children have the opportunity to experience a play-based program, which encourages inquiry and discovery,” it says. “NCRC will consistently strive to inspire and motivate each child, parent, and teacher within a nurturing, positive, joyful learning environment.”
In mid-September, the FBI became aware of Carroll, 55, after a Discord employee reached out to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The report indicated that a user had uploaded a disturbing photo featuring “two naked prepubescent boys lying on a piece of furniture,” according to the complaint.
The individual responsible for the upload used the username “CircumcisedLondonGay#0” and was based in the D.C. region.
The center passed the tip to federal authorities, who tracked the IP address back to Carroll’s residence and linked the email used for the account to the Beauvoir School, a primary school associated with the Washington National Cathedral, where Carroll had previously worked as the director of outplacement, as stated in the complaint.
A second IP address, reportedly used to access the Discord account multiple times over the past year, has been traced back to NCRC, according to the complaint, which also identifies two alternate accounts allegedly managed by Carroll.
On November 5, an undercover agent from the FBI’s Washington Field Office accessed Discord and reached out to Carroll using a fake profile, according to the complaint.
Carroll reportedly informed the undercover agent that he was exclusively interested in “boys only,” specifically those aged between 8 and 12. An agent took on the role of a divorced father with a 9-year-old son, claiming he had custody every other weekend, and stated that he regularly sexually abused the child, as outlined in the complaint.
Carroll expressed a disturbing fascination with extreme sexual abuse, urging the undercover agent to inflict harm on his imaginary son, according to the complaint.
On November 12, agents from the FBI monitored the NCRC and observed Carroll’s vehicle parked outside, according to the complaint. According to reports, two days later, the undercover agent informed Carroll about a video of abuse he intended to record and inquired about Carroll’s preferences for what he wanted to witness.
On November 19, Carroll will find himself in handcuffs, thanks to the U.S. Marshals Service.
He could be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years behind bars if found guilty.