Former School Nurse Accused Of Secretly Photographing Over 40 Girls In Bathroom

A 40-year-old former nurse at a Tennessee high school has been arrested and faces child pornography charges after he was discovered to have secretly taken photographs of dozens of minors, prosecutors announced last Thursday.

Authorities discovered over 700 images of minor girls in a bathroom, either in "various stages of undress" or "utilizing bathroom facilities," after a search of Leon B. Hensley's devices. All the photos were seemingly taken by a hidden or concealed camera, according to a statement by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The camera used for the photos was positioned directly across and in front of the toilet seat, at toilet seat level, officials said.

"The camera was positioned in such a manner as to capture or attempt to capture the lewd and lascivious display of the genitalia and positioned in the same location in all of the images," the statement said.

Further investigation determined that the bathroom in the images was the private student bathroom in the nurse's station at North Eash High School (NEHS) in Clarksville, where Hensley previously worked.

The investigation is still ongoing, but to date, over 40 victims are suspected to be NEHS students between the ages of 12 and 17. Authorities also found images taken from Hensley's workplace prior to NEHS, Tannova Hospital in Clarksville.

Hensley is facing federal charges of attempted production of child pornography, acting U.S. Attorney Mary Jane Stewart for the Middle District of Tennessee announced. He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to life in prison if convicted.

Hensley was arrested on May 18 near his current home in Lake Whales, Florida. He was scheduled to appear before a Tampa court on the same day.

Hensley's arrest stemmed from a complaint received by the Clarksville Police Department (CPD) of Hensley sending a nude photo of an adult woman to a minor girl in November 2019 while he was still working as a nurse at the high school, officials said. According to the DOJ, Hensley had been communicating with the minor via text and asked her to help him by posing for a photoshoot.

CPD then conducted a follow-up investigation and searched Hensley's phone, in which dozens of images depicting the sexual exploitation of children were discovered. Police then seized numerous electronic devices from Hensley in a search of his house, including a small covert video camera.

An initial examination of Hensley's phone led to the discovery of the nude images of the minor girls who were identified as students at NEHS. The DOJ said Homeland Security agents joined the investigation due to the enormous amount of images found in Hensley's devices.

Other images were also discovered that depicted unidentified women in hospital examination rooms, pre-operation or post-operation rooms as well as nude females in tanning beds.