Elementary school principal arrested for sexting undercover cop posing as 15-year-old boy

McLaughlin, the principal at Dawson Elementary School, was charged with Transmission of Harmful Material to a Minor, Unlawful Use of a Two-Way Communications Device, and Use of Computer Services or Devices to Solicit Certain Illegal Acts.

By Edward Era Barbacena

On Thursday, the principal of a Hillsborough County elementary school in Florida who is a white man was arrested for allegedly sending sexually explicit text messages to an undercover officer who was posing as a 15-year-old boy during the exchange.

On Jan. 27, 41-year-old Derrick McLaughlin was arrested by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. According to WEAR-TV, McLaughlin is the principal at Dawson Elementary School in Riverview, Florida.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office charged McLaughlin with Transmission of Harmful Material to a Minor, Unlawful Use of a Two-Way Communications Device, and Use of Computer Services or Devices to Solicit Certain Illegal Acts.

He has been placed under a Baker Act after making suicidal comments at the time of his arrest.

From Jan. 19 to Jan. 27, 2020, undercover detectives portrayed themselves as a 15-year-old boy during a chat operation to identify individuals attempting to exploit children, according to the sheriff's office.

McLaughlin initiated a message conversation with the undercover detectives through a social media app, and "attempted to entice the undercover detectives he believed was a teenager to engage in sexual acts."

"It's sickening that a trusted member of our community, a school principal, would take advantage of a child for his own self-gratification," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "Thankfully, it was not a child, but one of our detectives, who was on the receiving end of his obscene messages. No child should be subjected to the disturbing behavior put on display by McLaughlin."

While the investigation remains ongoing, the sheriff's office said they do not believe there are any additional victims at this time.