Murnan was 30 years old and teaching fifth grade at Will Rogers Elementary School in Stillwater, Oklahoma, at the time.
The child pornography charge was later dropped, but that was only because a judge later determined that prosecutors had not proven that the victims in the images found on his devices were underage …
…article continued below
– Advertisement –
School Investigated for Hiring Principal Despite Child Pornography Charges
BY NICK MORDOWANEC ON 9/1/23 AT 8:00 PM EDT
NEWSWEEK – Oklahoma’s top education official is investigating one of the state’s school districts for hiring a principal who was charged with alleged child pornography crimes over two decades ago, but was never convicted.
Shane Murnan was hired by the Western Heights School District (WHSD) in June to be the principal of John Glenn Elementary School, at which time district leadership noted on its Facebook page that it had become aware of his past charges.
In 2002, a Payne County judge tossed the case due to a lack of proof presented by prosecutors that Murnan, a fifth-grade teacher in a different district at the time, was in possession of any child pornography.
…article continued below
– Advertisement –
The case was later reversed via appeal, The Oklahoman reported at the time, though the record of charges was eventually expunged and Murnan continued his career as an educator, which has now spanned over 25 years