Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Major Update in Case of Principal's Son Facing Child Porn Charges

Episode Date: September 23, 2025

Matt McChesney faces more than 20 counts of possessing and transmitting child sex abuse materials in Santa Rosa County, Florida. His mother, Kim McChesney, was a principal at Gulf Breeze Elementary School and was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation after parents said she allowed her son to walk through the school with children present. It was part of a graduation event for seniors. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy goes through what Kim McChesney told police when her son was first arrested and the latest developments from the school district in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code CRIMEFIX at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: http://incogni.com/crimefixHost:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest:Mark Weaver https://x.com/MarkRWeaverProducer:Jordan ChaconCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Matthew, do you have your passport? No, he has. Okay, I'll be right back. That was Matt Mechesney, the son of an elementary school principal being picked up on a warrant for possessing and transmitting images of children engaged in sex acts. A confessed predator was welcomed in.

into Gulf Breeze Elementary School and while he was under investigation, of course. Parents demand answers after they say his mother allowed him to be around young children at her school. I want to make sure I am able to rebuild some confidence and trust where that may have been lost. I'll detail how parents may finally get some answers in this case. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy. Matt McChesney faces very serious criminal charges for an 18-year-old recent high school graduate. He's accused of possessing and sharing child sex abuse material on his phone and his computer. And one of the reasons his case has sparked so much outrage, his mother, Kim McCesney, is an elementary school administrator at the Santa Rosa County School District. district in Florida, or at least she was. Kim Chesney has been on paid administrative leave from that position at Gulf Breeze Elementary School since August 4th. She was placed on leave when the district found out that she allowed her son Matt to walk through her elementary school during a

senior walk-through event around graduation time, knowing that her son had been interviewed by detectives and that those detectives had been to her home with a warrant to collect a computer and that her son had told those detectives that there was child porn on it. Yikes. Parents were understandably outraged, a principal entrusted with ensuring the safety and well-being of children at her school was being accused of allowing her son, who was under investigation for having elicit images of children on his phone, allowed him to walk through the school. school where children were present. And I want to talk about what transpired on May 8th.

We all know Matthew McChesney was searched on campus at Gulf Breeze High School, but the search didn't end there. It continued at his home in Gulf Breeze, Florida, the same home that he shares with his mother, assistant principal, Kimberly McChesney of Gulf Breeze Elementary School. So what I want to know is how did Dr. Karen Barber not know this student was under investigation for child pornography? How did principal Monica Garcia? and not know her assistant principal's son was under investigation. Surely Dr. Barber had to

have called Mrs. Garcia on the day of the investigation to inform her the search warrant was being executed on one of her staff members' homes. And did Mrs. Garcia not hear the commotion coming from Mrs. McChesney's office when she received notifications of her ring doorbell camera. They sit right across the hall from each other. And I doubt Mrs. Garcia would release Ms. McChesney without explanation. Now that was mother, Kyle Connell. at an August school board meeting. How was he later allowed to walk through the halls of Gulf Breeze Elementary

surrounded by small children, my own children, giving them high fives number two slot in the senior walkthrough. I have video I have posted it online for a photo op for Mommy Dearest. That wasn't just bad judgment. That was an outrageous breach of trust. A confessed predator

was welcomed into Gulf Breeze. into Gulf Breeze Elementary School. And while he was under investigation, of course. His devices had already been seized, and local law enforcement had enough evidence to arrest him on the spot. We're all wondering why, but that's not your problem. Our community sat completely unaware for months.

And this wasn't just a senior walk. This was a complete security failure. It was an insult to every parent who trusts this district to protect our children. The superintendent, Dr. Karen Barber, responded to the concerns. This was after Macezny's arrest, first in Washington State and then after he turned himself into a sheriff's office in Florida. Before we proceed through the agenda, I really want to briefly comment on the news of the recent arrest of our Gulf Free student, former Gulfree student. And we understand why some of our families have expressed concerns regarding.

safety and I want you to know we truly do hear those concerns and we understand why many of you have those feelings of anxiety and concerns also know that there are many families and others in the community with questions about the arrest I'd like to reiterate the information shared by Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson in an interview he did with W EAR on August 5th and I quote we get this a lot They say, well, you started this investigation back in February, well, because of all these images and things on the phone and computers, sometimes it does take months before you get them all done until you can actually arrest or convict somebody, end quote. Importantly, Santa Rosa County District Administration was not involved in the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's ongoing and thorough investigation.

beyond the initial notification that law enforcement was going to interview the student on campus, the district was not kept apprised of any additional information. The superintendent talked about when they learned that Matt McChesney had actually been charged with a crime. District administration became aware of the arrest and the details of the charges on Friday, August 1st. As of today, this is what I can tell you. After reviewing the details of the charges and the arrest on Monday, August 4th, the district initiated immediately in an official investigation of the circumstances to determine what actions are necessary. We've already been in discussions with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office,

and I can assure you that the district will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement and prioritize the safety and the well-being. of our students, staff and visitors on our campus. Because this is an ongoing investigation and an open district investigation, we cannot provide any additional comments at this time. But I can tell you that we are listening. I cover a lot of really scary crime stories here on crime fix. And if it's taught me anything, it's that privacy and personal safety absolutely cannot be compromised, especially when it comes to your personal info online. You would be really shocked at how much of your data, like your name, phone number, even your home address is

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noticed concerning data breaches, cropping up, and creating issues in your life. And a team of privacy specialists will take care of the rest. The new Incogny Unlimited feature even allows users to customize their data removals and tackle the toughest of breaches with the help of a team of privacy specialists. So if you care about your online safety and you really should, take your personal data back with incogni. Use code crime fix below on the screen and get 60% off an annual plan. So let's take a look at Matt McChesney's arrest. He was first detained on July 3rd in Port Angeles, Washington as he and his parents were returning from a trip to Canada. Matthew, do you have your passport?

No, he has. Okay, I'll be right back. Do you have this passport? I'll come talk to them in just a minute. Okay. Okay. Matthew, I have some unfortunate news. You have a warrant out of Florida. Are you aware of that? No. Okay. Well, you have a warrant out of Florida that has a nationwide extradition, okay? So go ahead and stand up and face the wall. You're going to be placed under arrest. explain what's going on, okay? Okay. Okay, you might just move you right, Leo?

The other thing I'm going to, like, stick, step, poke me or anything I need to worry about them and then. No, no. Okay. Go ahead and search you around. And Matthew, just so you know, we have cameras running okay. So this was back on July 3rd before anyone in the public knew about the criminal charges that Matt Machesney was facing and after he'd graduated from Gulf Breece High School.

If there's anything you need to worry about last night, you need a bag? Yeah. So Matthew, I have your passport and I'm going to put it in this bag, okay? And I got a picture. You're right now. Okay. Okay. Okay.

All the wallet. There might be a receipt. Yeah. Anything dangerous in there, Matthew? Earbuds. In the wallet? the wallet? Oh, I got you. Okay.

I'll get back to the body camera footage in a bit. Stay tuned. You're going to see Kim McChesney in that footage. Matt McChesney got a lawyer and a judge in Washington State, and that judge allowed him to return to Florida with the promise that he turned himself in, and he did that. On July 14th, imposed bail. He's pleaded not guilty to the charges. On August 4th, the school board placed Kim McChesney on paid leave, as I told you, pending the outcome of an investigation. And they appointed an interim assistant principal to her

position. Well, guess what? As of right now, Kim McChesney is still on administrative leave, but a permanent assistant principal has been named Gulf Breeze Elementary School. That makes it sound like Kim McChesney may not be returning to her job. And the district has now hired a law firm to perform legal and investigative services as needed for the district. Joining me to discuss this latest development in the Matthew McChesney case is Mark Weaver. He is a prosecutor in the state of Ohio who has prosecuted cases involving teachers and sex abuse and all kinds of stuff in the past. So, Mark, you know, this case is pretty crazy and disturbing. The allegation is that Matt McChesney, a high school senior, had child sex abuse material on his phone.

He told the cops that in an interview at the school. back in the spring, his mom's an assistant principal at an elementary school. And she apparently let him, knowing this, let him walk through the elementary school during a senior walkthrough event. So she's been placed on leave. She's been on leave since August 4th. Somebody's been appointed permanently to fill her position. It doesn't sound like she's coming back. Now they've got a law firm investigating. What would this law firm be investigating? It seems to be, pretty clear cut. Yeah, she didn't break the law, but she certainly broke good judgment.

I don't blame the parents for being angry. When you take away the part that she allowed her son to walk through an elementary school in a position of honor, this is just another random child sex case for child sex abuse materials. I've handled these before. It sounds like all the other ones I've worked on. You get a tip. You go to the person.

You grab their device. In this case, he said it would be on the device. There's a digital trail. There's numerous charges. You can charge every image and every video. People don't realize that. And so the prosecutors have the ability to send him away for 10, 20, 30, 40 years, depending on the judge. So it's actually a fairly garden variety child sex abuse material prosecution.

But parents have a right to be angry. That mother almost certainly knew her son had his phone take. and that these images were on there. There's also some indication that maybe she took them out of the country into Canada for a day. That's also a show of bad judgment. So we expect people who lead our schools. My mother was a principal for 30 years. I have a lot of respect for principals and the other people who work in these schools.

We expect them to display good judgment. And when they don't, then they have to be held accountable. So that's what makes this case a little different than your typical case. I find it disturbing that Matt McChesney was interviewed at the school where he attended. He tells the cops this. And as far as we know, he was still allowed to attend high school. I mean, I don't know what you do. He wasn't under arrest.

But he certainly was still at the school in a school setting despite telling the deputies, yeah, I've got child sex abuse material on my phone. I mean, I don't know how much the school knew or didn't know at that time. The cops are interviewing him there at the school. Mom most certainly had to know as the assistant principal. You would think she would have known what was going on. I mean, even though she's in elementary school, this is her child. So what the heck? Like, if you're the law firm investigating this, you know, the school isn't really saying why they hired the law firm to investigate.

I mean, are they just looking into the failures and what they need to do better in the future? Well, the law firm investigation might be attorney-client privileged. I don't know if the district has agreed to release the results, but that's typically allowed when a law firm does the investigation. During the Watergate investigation, famously Senator Howard Baker from Tennessee said repeatedly in committee, what did the president know and when did he know it. And that's kind of what this law firm is probably looking at. What did this district know and when did they know it?

We've seen hundreds, maybe more examples of school districts suspending a kid for much less than having child sex abuse materials on your phone. Sometimes for comments they make on social media or being mean to somebody on school bus. We've seen kids suspended for that. So if the school knew about these allegations, they don't have to have an indictment in order to suspend the kid and take them away from other kids and let him take his lessons at home. So I will watch with interest what this investigation brings about. It makes you wonder, too. I mean, I hate to go here, but his mom was an assistant principal. So it makes you wonder if some strings were pulled to let him stay in school.

As long as that suspicion is out there, the school district is going to have trouble getting support from parents, which is why that investigation that the law firm is doing should be made public so everybody can know what happened. And then if there was string pulling, if there was a higher. up who took uh who took advantage of this inside connection and allowed this this this man i believe he was 18 to stay in the school then that person needs to be held accountable as well there all sorts of bad things happen in every human organization all we can ask for is tell us what happened that's transparency and hold people accountable what bothers me too um is that he was even allowed to stay at the high school but then walk through the elementary school.

That to me says other people didn't know about this because I guarantee you the principal of the elementary school probably wouldn't have allowed this had she known that he was under investigation for child sex abuse materials or at least you hope that the principal would not have allowed it. So like it just seems to me like a lot of really bad. decision making going on here, a lot of bad stuff going on within this school district as far as this family goes. Yes, again, I don't know all the facts that none of us does. We'll wait for the investigation. Nothing that I've heard so far creates a legal problem. I don't know that any student was at risk. I don't know that any law was broken other than the criminal case, which we already talked about. But parents and taxpayers in that district have a right to know what happened. And they're going to be at school board meetings. There have already been large

crowds at school board meetings demanding answers. And that's the way our system works. It's a public institution. If this were a private company, the public wouldn't have a right to come into the board meeting and tell them for accountability. But in a school district, they do. Well, the case against Matthew Chesney, of course, is moving forward through the courts. I don't see, even though Kim McChesney, the mother, is on administrative leave. They've appointed a permanent replacement. I mean, read between the lines here. She may be on leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

I don't see her coming back if they've already made a permanent replacement or named somebody permanently to her position. Is this all just, you know, them dotting their eyes and crossing their T's so they don't get sued by her? Yeah, I don't know employment law in Florida, but I suspect that's an at Will State, which means they could fire her. Maybe as a public employee, she has some grievance rights, arbitration rights, and you certainly want to respect those.

It's a safe bet that she's updating her LinkedIn profile in the next week or two. It's also a safe bet that this child sex abuse material case will not go to trial. They rarely do. And there will be a plea to some certain number of images and some certain number of years. That's how these typically resolve. Definitely. But it still kind of makes you wonder, like, what is going to be done with this kid who's 18? Yes, he is technically an adult, but he's a young adult.

What's going to be done to maybe, like, get him not wanting to view this stuff in the future? Because, you know, if he's sitting around looking at child sex abuse material, God only knows what the future holds for him. Yeah. Sadly, this typically starts with habitual viewing of adult porn. where adults are being depicted sexually. And then it moves into child porn. And then in many cases, it goes on from viewing child porn to actually inappropriately and illegally touching children. And so let's hope that cycle will be broken here.

Let's hope. Let's hope this guy gets some help. Mark Weaver, thank you so much for your time and your expertise as always. Thank you, Internet. So I told you earlier that we'd get back to the body-worn camera footage. Here's Matt McChesney, and you'll see his mom, too. Take a look. Okay.

Do you want us to put your hood up? Some people want their hood up. You want it up or down? Oh, yeah, okay. We'll walk you out. I'll walk you out. My part will explain how it's one on. Let me lead if you can hold this bag.

Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. I don't know. I'm sorry. I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know. Okay. Okay, I'll go talk to them. We want to, we can just go straight through it. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

I don't like this at all. Let's go all the way wide. Yeah, let's get out of this stack of cards. So when you get in the car, just read Miranda on your camera. And I'll talk to my parents. Yeah, I can't give on too much, but go around to the warrant. I'll take a copy of the warrant. Just look at it?

Yeah. Hold on. Matthew, I'm just going to show this view real quick. This is a copy of the warrant. This is what you're being charged with in Florida, okay. The nationwide Exreditable Warren. See your charges here? Okay. You're on the driver's side?

Yeah, that's not. Okay. Be good here. I'll go chat with parents. Yeah. Hi, guys. Are you Matthew's family? Yes.

Okay. We're on the phone with our family attorney. Okay. They said they weren't going to process it. They just processed them. I'm here with Court Angels Police Department right now. So I have a copy of the warrant. I can't tell you much because he's 18.

I can show you a copy of it. And to tell you that it's been issued out of Florida and it has nationwide extradition, which were essentially mandated to take him, okay? Somebody from Florida is going to come up and get him. Like what? I don't. You'll say that one more time?

Yes, yes. This is our time. Yeah, that's fine. So he'll be in the Clowham County Jail for now, which is just up the road. Kim Mitchesney talks with the officer a little more and listen to what she tells the officer when asked about the charges. What do I do? Yes, Michael, I'm here.

What do I, I'm asking the police officers here, what do I need to do right now? So for now, he's going to have to see a judge, and I don't know if the judge is going to come in. Tomorrow's the 4th of July, and we have Saturday, Sunday, and then Monday. So he could potentially see a judge before Monday, but Monday is the most likely.

Oh, my God. I know. He's 18. I know. What is going to happen to him in jail? Our jail here is very safe. It's very well run. They take good care of the inmates.

Has he ever been to jail before? No. Okay. Did you guys have any idea of what was happening? No. Okay. Well, I can tell you he's going to be in the Clown County Jail. He'll probably call you.

It's my guess as soon as he gets processed. And then you guys can start making arrangements with your attorney, figuring out bond, all that kind of stuff. I don't know if he's even going to be able to bond out from Washington. Washington or if he has to go back to Florida first before you can bond out, I don't know the answer to that. So, sorry I don't have more information for you. So right there, Kim McChesney said she didn't know about the charges, but it's hard to believe she didn't know about the investigation since a computer had been seized from her home. Her husband says something

different minutes later. Take a listen. Okay. Do you guys have any questions for me? I just I know. I'm sorry this is happening on... I know he's... I know he's... I know what's done. Yeah. But he's going to be terrified. I don't know. He's going to be his fucking jail a weekend. I don't know yet.

And that's what I can't answer is sometimes the judge will come in, like, every couple days and review cases. And sometimes it won't be until Monday. Okay. I gave her where he is. He's at the Clowham County Jail. It's just up the road here. The numbers are online and everything.

The attorney asked if you guys can be notified for his... first appearance. Unfortunately, he's 18, so I can't even release much information to you guys. But what I can do is ask the jail, hey, like, can you see if he can, your kid can make sure that he tells you guys. I mean, we, I mean, like, we made this trip because the warrant, we knew was coming, but they were like, we should want to understand that it was okay for us to do this. Right. Yeah. Otherwise, we would have never done this trip. Right. Right. Okay, guys. Well, I'm really sorry that this is all going down. Um, if you have any other questions to ask me before I go.

Okay. I'll give you a couple of seconds to think, just so you know I am recording, okay? Matt Mchesney, as I mentioned, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The next event for his court case is scheduled in November, and we'll let you know what happens. That's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Ann Jeanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.