Massachusetts high school employee found dead amid investigation into "sexualized" TikTok video
A former Massachusetts high school employee facing allegations of having a "sexualized conversation" on TikTok with a person posing as a 15-year-old girl has been found dead, police said.
Kingston police launched an investigation last week after the Silver Lake Regional High School employee, whose name was not released, was allegedly seen having conversations with a social media streamer pretending to be a young girl. After the incident was discovered, the superintendent of schools said the man would no longer be employed by the school.
On Tuesday, Kingston Police Chief Brian Holmes and Plympton Police Chief Matthew Ahl announced in a joint statement that the unidentified man was dead. At this time, foul play is not suspected, police said.
As Kingston police looked into the incident, they learned that the video appeared to have been recorded at the man's home in Plympton. As a result, Plympton police took over the investigation.
Police said they found an uncut version of the video that lasted more than an hour. They decided to pursue arrest and search warrants on Tuesday against the man.
Before the warrants were authorized, Plympton police were notified by Rhode Island State Police early Tuesday morning that the man had been found dead.
"Although this closes a portion of the investigation, the investigation remains on-going to ensure no other victims exist," Holmes and Ahl said in their statement. "Regardless of your thoughts on the alleged offender, the loss of human life is always impactful. Out of compassion for the family and those who knew the deceased, we ask the public to please be respectful in any comments on this matter."
Police said no evidence has been discovered that any students were victimized or received inappropriate communications from the man.