Kindergarten ‘Teacher of the Year’ accused of sending child porn, MO cops say

A woman who in 2024 was named Teacher of the Year at her Missouri school is accused of sending child porn on social media, authorities say.

Erika Morton, a kindergarten teacher in St. Francois County, is charged with five counts of promoting child pornography and five counts of child pornography possession, according to a probable cause statement.

Using the social media platform Kik, Morton sent the videos in January and February during a “sexually charged” conversation with another user, Missouri State Highway Patrol said. She acknowledged the victims in the videos are under the age of 18, troopers said.

Morton admitted to sending the content during an interview with troopers, saying she sent them using her phone at her home in Ste. Genevieve, according to the charging documents.

“The suspect is employed as a kindergarten teacher at a public school in St. Francois County and has expressed a sexual interest in children,” authorities said.

Farmington R-7 School District did not name the teacher but said in a statement to KSDK that a Truman Learning Center staff member “is no longer employed” by the district after it learned of the allegations. The district does not believe the “alleged incidents took place on school grounds or involved any Farmington R-7 students.”

As first reported by KSDK, Morton was recognized during a December school board meeting as the school’s Teacher of the Year. She taught in the district for 10 years.

Records show Morton was jailed on a $1 million bond.

Truman Learning Center is in Farmington, about a 70-mile drive south from St. Louis.

This story was originally published June 19, 2025 at 3:09 PM with the headline "Kindergarten ‘Teacher of the Year’ accused of sending child porn, MO cops say."