CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A former school nurse at Northeast High School pled guilty to federal charges of creating and distributing child pornography in 2022. Now, he is being faced with almost 100 charges for child pornography by the state of Tennessee here in Montgomery County.
Leon B. Hensley, 43, was sentenced on April 3, 2023, in U.S. District Court to 293 months (24 years, 5 months) in federal prison on child pornography charges. Hensley was a former school nurse for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System at Northeast High School.
Then, on June 7, 2024, he was arrested and booked in the Montgomery County Sherrif’s Office for 99 different charges, all related to child pornography.
Schools, hospitals, airports and tanning beds
Hensley was employed at Northeast High from August 2017 through Nov. 8, 2019. His time at the school came to an end in November when Clarksville Police received a referral from the Tennessee Department of Children Services advising that Hensley sent a digital image, via text message, of a nude adult woman to a minor girl in the Clarksville area. Hensley had been communicating with the girl via text and asked her to help him with a photo shoot by posing for photos.
He was arrested and charged November 18, 2019, with sexual exploitation of a minor. According to previous Clarksville Now reports, during a consensual examination of his cell phone, the arresting officer, Sgt. Slaven, found a photo of a “prepubescent child in the state of total undress with the focus of the photo being on the genital area.” During a search of his house, numerous electronic devices were seized, including a small covert video camera.
The initial examination of Hensley’s phone led to the discovery of nude images identified as female students at NEHS.
In May of 2021, Hensley was once again arrested, this time on federal charges.
Due to the enormous amount of imagery on Hensley’s devices, the U.S. Secret Service joined the investigation and located several images of girls photographed by a hidden camera while using a restroom. Other images depict girls in hospital examination rooms, pre-operation or post-operation rooms, and nude females in tanning beds.
Just a month before his second arrest, Homeland Security Investigation agents also joined the investigation, and more than 700 images were discovered.
As the investigation progressed, it was determined the bathroom in the images is the private student bathroom in the nurse’s station at NEHS. Other images found geolocate to Tennova Heathcare-Clarksville, where Hensley was employed prior to working at NEHS, as well as airports, tanning beds and even some video files appearing to be upskirt videos of adult and minor females.
More than 40 different female Northeast High students were believed to have been photographed by Hensley.
United States of America vs. Leon B. Hensley
A superseding indictment returned in June of 2022, which charged Hensley with 25 counts of attempting to produce child pornography and enticing or coercing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography.
On Sept. 28, 2022, Hensley pleaded guilty prior to the start of a bench trial, which was scheduled to begin that day.
According to the indictment, five victims were identified, ranging between 16 to 17 years old.
Collectively, the case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Secret Service; the FBI; and the Clarksville Police Department with Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Morrison prosecuting the case.
On April 3, 2023, Hensley was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 293 months (24 years, 5 months) in federal prison on child pornography charges. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to U.S District Attorney’s office spokesman, Mark Wildasin, Hensley has filed an appeal since his sentencing.
State of Tennessee vs. Leon B. Hensley
On June 7, 2024, Hensley was extradited from federal prison to Clarksville-Montgomery County to face state charges.
Currently, Hensley is facing 99 charges relating to child pornography, solicitation, and unlawful imagery:
- 37 counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor
- 9 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor
- 1 count of sexual exploitation of a minor > 50 images
- 12 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor > 100 images
- 1 count of solicitation of a minor – especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor
- 3 counts of unlawful photographing in violation of privacy
- 36 counts of unlawful aggravated photographing
According to the indictments, these aren’t necessarily new charges for new crimes. Hensley will be prosecuted by the state for the same crimes (plus additional charges) he pled guilty to in federal court.
Without speaking specifically to this case, District Attorney General Robert Nash said that the difference between federal and state charges is that they are two sovereign entities.
“Even if federal wants to prosecute under their laws, if a state offense occurred, we can still prosecute under the offenses alleged to have been committed in the state,” Nash explained. “If the (federal) has a criminal summons or indictment, they can take defendants from the state and can prosecute first.”
Nash said that it is up to state law what this could mean for a person convicted of federal crimes now facing state charges in terms of additional prison time and trials.
Based on state law, depending on Hensley’s plea, this could mean a new trial in open court, or a guilty plea. Additionally, this could mean that Hensley could spend more time in prison from the state charges on top of his federal prison sentence.
Arraignment for Hensley is set for July 8, 2024, at the Montgomery County Courts Complex at 9 a.m.
At this point, Leon Hensley does not have an attorney and cannot be reached for comment.