A former Oregon principal was handed a prison sentence of five years after he pleaded guilty to three charges related to possessing child s*xual abuse material (CSAM). Jeremy Peter Williams, 55, of Longview, was previously placed on leave from his job for celebrating the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September 2025.
While Williams was on leave, local law enforcement authorities arrested him on multiple charges. Cowlitz County Chief Criminal Deputy Troy Brightbill stated that at the time, officials had received automatic alerts from several social media sites after known CSAM was traded by an internet address that connected to Williams. The process used to nail the ex-educator for his crimes is known as hash matching. This led to the alerts and subsequent investigation of his home, the seizure of his phones, computers, and other electronic devices.
Much to the relief of parents, the deputy revealed there was no indication that Williams was in possession of images of students at his current school. A reporter for the Daily Chronicle in Longview said that while appearing in court on February 23, 2026, the principal mumbled out an apology for his actions. The report also said that Williams had made previous statements about winning awards for writing erotic fiction.
According to Oregon Live, Williams had served as the principal of the high school since 2022. He officially retired from his position in November 2025, earning a final salary of $99,500 a year. Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Thad Scudder sentenced Williams to five years behind bars during the hearing. He also ordered him to register as a sex offender, to pay $3,000 in court fees and imposed three years of probation on the man.
A report from Fox News said that before Williams was arrested, school officials were already in the process of responding to concerns about him and his conduct. Superintendent Chad Holloway sent a message to families saying the district had been made aware of “concerns… following a recent comment by an employee… regarding Charlie Kirk,” calling the former principal’s comments about Kirk “deeply unsettling” before noting the impact on students and staff at the school.
And just when Holloway thought things couldn’t be any worse, he sent a second letter to the community describing some “very disturbing” developments after finding out about Williams’ arrest on charges of possessing child pornography. In the letter, the superintendent stressed the district was working with police and taking steps to provide students with support.
This included making counselors readily available and allowing families to take their children out of school for the day if they felt such action was necessary. “The safety of our students is our highest priority,” he said in the letter. The Fox News report also stated that the vast majority of the case unfolded behind the scenes until it came time for sentencing.
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Revelations of Williams’ behavior caused quite a stir on social media, leading to former NCAA swimmer and women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines to address the matter on X, saying, “It’s always either 1) a teacher 2) a health care worker 3) a government employee. Deeply concerning.” Actor Kevin Sorbo wrote, “I don’t think Charlie was the bad person in this story.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video