A former drama teacher from Washington County High School has received a prison sentence of more than thirty years.
On November 7, 2024, U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell sentenced 33-year-old Michael Allen Dendy from Milledgeville, Ga. to 400 months in prison, along with 10 years of supervised release. Dendy must register as a child sex offender when he is released from federal prison.
On July 30, 2024, Dendy admitted guilt in federal court to one charge of producing child pornography and one charge of distributing child pornography.
Legal filings indicate Dendy confessed to acquiring inappropriate images of minors at Washington County High School and engaging with students through fake Instagram accounts. He allegedly confessed to starting catfishing in 2016 while residing in Mississippi.
The United States Attorney’s Office Middle District of Georgia reports that Dendy has taught at three different schools in the past. Griffin High School in Griffin, Ga. was attended from 2018 to 2020; St. Charles High School in Waldorf, Md. from 2017 to 2018; and Starkville High School in Starkville, Miss. from 2014 to 2016.
“We are committed to holding people like Michael Allen Dendy accountable to the fullest extent of the law for monstrously preying on adolescents, in this case tricking minors to send him explicit images and uploading them online for other predators to view,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “I am thankful for our law enforcement partners who are dedicated to protecting the innocent and bringing child predators to justice.”
“Michael Allen Dendy will no longer be able to prey on children and he will be an old man when he is released from prison,” said Washington County Sheriff Joel Cochran. “We are resolute in our commitment to safeguarding our children and ensuring that those who prey on them are held accountable. I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all law enforcement officers, prosecutors and support personnel who worked tirelessly on this case. Your dedication and hard work have made our community safer and brought us closer to justice for the victims.”
Parents or guardians of children who may have come into contact with Dendy and have concerns regarding the investigation are encouraged to reach out to the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) tip line at 1-866-347-2423.