A Dade County, Georgia, substitute teacher who sent inappropriate messages and pictures of herself to "several" 14-year-old boys in 2018 has pleaded guilty and will serve a maximum of 10 years on probation.
Amanda Lenea Pardue pleaded guilty this week to four counts of computer pornography. As part of a plea agreement, she will serve 10 years on probation. Three counts of obscene internet contact with a child were merged with the four computer pornography counts in the plea agreement.
As part of the plea, Pardue will have to register as a sex offender and enroll in a structured, cognitive-behavioral sex offender treatment program. She is not allowed to use Snapchat or any other social media app that will erase messages and photos.
In September 2018, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation charged Pardue with electronically furnishing obscene materials to minors and electronic pornography and child exploitation. Pardue turned herself in at the Dade County Jail and was released on a bond of $30,000.
The GBI began looking into the case at the request of Trenton (Georgia) Police Department Chief Christy Smith on Aug. 31. Agents obtained a search warrant for Pardue's phone soon after.
The GBI had released almost no other information about the case. Special Agent in Charge Greg Ramey declined to discuss what preceded the messages between Pardue and the boys, what kind of "inappropriate" content she had shared, how she communicated with the boys or how they got each other's phone numbers.
Dade County Schools Superintendent Jan Harris said the district fired Pardue as soon as administrators learned of the allegations. According to the Dade Planet, a local news website, the Board of Education hired her in September 2016.
"We are saddened to learn about the arrest of a former substitute teacher," Harris said in a statement Thursday. "This individual is no longer employed as a substitute teacher with Dade County Schools. We are cooperating with law enforcement officers as they investigate this matter."
Pardue's attorney, Larry Stagg, said when Pardue was arrested that he still had not heard the GBI's specific allegations. He said Pardue told him the problems began when she was included in a group text with multiple boys.
Based on what his client told him, he believed the GBI was targeting communications between Pardue and the boys on Snapchat.
He declined to share with the Times Free Press what content specifically his client said she sent.
Pardue will be able to get off probation - subject to her behavior and actions - after four years, according to the sentencing.
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.