A 32-year-old Christian school leader is in hot water after it was exposed he allegedly groomed and stalked a teenage student.
John “Jay” Brownlow has been accused of grooming a teenage boy that attends Westminster Academy in Memphis, Tennessee where he worked as Chief Financial Officer. At the peak of the pandemic in 2020, it’s alleged that the former church youth director kept in contact with one of his students and groomed him into performing sexual activity online.
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Not only that, it’s reported he secretly installed cameras in the boy’s room to capture explicit videos! According to indictment papers, he snuck into the family’s home to install the cameras and to stalk the juvenile. Just disgusting…
From June 2020, the former school leader would continue to groom the boy and stalk him, only being caught up with in January of last year. Someone found out about the correspondence between Brownlow and the teen and reported it to the school’s Headmaster, who in turn reported it to the police. After finding out about the allegations, he was promptly fired from his position and arrested. He originally pleaded not guilty to his many charges.
Action News 5 spoke to Brownlow’s lawyer Leslie Ballin on Tuesday and asked:
“You pleaded not guilty on his behalf in court. Is your client innocent?”
The attorney only offered a vague response:
“The allegations are indeed shocking. Does it mean it’s accurate and true? Not for me to decide.”
He did say, however, he’s seen the prosecution’s evidence and Brownlow is standing with his not guilty plea. Only time will tell what kind of sentence — if any — he gets…
Clinical Director at the Sexual Assault Center in Nashville Alicia Bunch knows that grooming has been a topic that’s been on fire lately in Tennessee, and she says predators are usually close to the child — with most groomed children being between 12 and 17:
“Someone who usually has access to children; that could be teachers, coaches, it could be family friends … The way that adolescent brains are working, their development, they’re trying to establish relationships and so any age child can be groomed.”
Just terrible! These people are right under our noses and committing the most heinous acts against children — yet Tennessee is more worried about banning drag queens! Super backwards!
Brownlow is currently out on a $200,000 bond but isn’t allowed to talk to the teen involved in the case. His former workplaces, the school and St. Patrick Presbyterian Church in Collierville (where we was once a “youth leader”), have urged any other victims to come forward — as police allege there may be more young kids who have been abused at his hands.
So, so awful. What do U think, Perezcious readers? Let us know (below).
[Image via Action News 5/YouTube]
