A former Lyon County teacher and soccer coach has entered a guilty plea in federal court to attempting to possess child pornography stemming from two incidents in 2019.
Michael Derek McCuiston changed his plea in court Friday. He agreed to waive the indictment charging him with attempting to produce child pornography and pled guilty to a superseding information that charges him with attempted possession.
McCuiston was the physical education teacher for the elementary and middle schools at Lyon County and was the boys’ varsity soccer coach at the time of his arrest.
Police said McCuiston placed a recording device in a school bathroom to capture videos of two girls under the age of 18. Lyon County Sheriff Brent White said he received an anonymous tip about McCuiston and alerted school officials.
Police testified that McCuiston’s wife found some images on his cell phone a few weeks before the police began investigating. She said the videos showed a suspected underage female using the restroom.
While conducting a search warrant at his home in Providence in April of 2019, police said McCuiston attempted to alter his phone which led to a tampering with physical evidence charge in Webster County.
Police also searched his school office and found a tablet that contained two videos. McCuiston resigned from his positions at the school immediately after his arrest.
As part of the plea agreement, the government seeks the forfeiture of two cell phones, an iPad, and Dell laptop, and a school-owned Microsoft Surface Pro tablet.
Under the original indictment, McCuiston faced a statutory minimum of 15 years to 30 years in prison. As part of the agreement, he will face a maximum of 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and at least five years of supervised release.
His sentencing will be held at a later date in Paducah.
