Lee’s Summit West teacher charged with possessing, distributing child sexual abuse videos
A Lee’s Summit West High School math teacher is facing federal charges relating to child sexual abuse videos he allegedly shared online, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri announced last Friday.
Seth Brummond, 37, of Greenwood, Missouri, has been charged in a criminal complaint with one count each of possessing and distributing over the internet child sexual abuse videos between Sept. 1 and Dec. 18, according to court documents.
Brummond was scheduled to make his first appearance that Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown Kansas City, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
In a statement, the Lee’s Summit School District said it was aware of the charges filed against Brummond, who joined the district in the 2018-19 school year.
“These charges are serious, and we are being fully responsive to this situation,” the district said in the statement. “The district is cooperating with the federal investigation and has placed Mr. Brummond on administrative leave according to district policy.”
In a note sent to families of Lee’s Summit West students, Principal Kayla Maid said Brummond was not in the classroom Thursday or Friday.
“At this time, we have been told that there is no evidence to suggest that any allegations made involve LSW students,” Maid said. “However, we encourage any parent or guardian to contact our administration, local police department, or anonymous Safe Schools tip line anytime they believe that they have relevant information impacting student safety.”
Maid said the school recognizes that the news of Brummond’s arrest and charges can be distressing, and that the school’s counselors will be available to support students who need it.
Prior to joining the Lee’s Summit District, Brummond taught math in the Belton and Van-Far school districts, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
According to court documents, Lee’s Summit police received a cyber tip on Sept. 8 that someone had uploaded a dozen videos of child sexual abuse using a messaging app.
Police were able to get the email associated with the messaging app’s user account. A search of the local police reporting system indicated Brummond had filed a harassment report in 2019, saying he had received harassing emails at both his work and personal email addresses. His personal email matched that of the one used for the messaging app.
That Thursday, Lee’s Summit police placed Brummond’s home in Greenwood under surveillance to serve federal warrants. Officers spotted Brummond leaving the house and about 6 a.m., they pulled him over in Lee’s Summit and arrested him. They seized his iPhone and a computer tower in the trunk of his car.
During a recorded interview, investigators told him that they had received multiple tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in September, November and December.
Brummond allegedly admitted to sharing and receiving images of child sexual abuse. He allegedly agreed that he knew the children in the videos were not of legal age and it was illegal to possess and share the videos.
This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 2:09 PM.
