CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A former school nurse accused of taking hidden-camera photos of more than 40 girls in a student bathroom at Northeast High was sentenced today to federal prison on child pornography and related charges.
Leon B. Hensley, 42, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court to 293 months (24 years, 5 months) in federal prison on child pornography charges, announced U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis in a news release. There is no parole in the federal system.
Hensley was charged and arrested in May 2021 following an investigation into allegations that he texted a photo of a nude adult woman to a minor girl in the Clarksville area. Hensley had been texting with the girl and asked her to help him with a photo shoot by posing for photos, according to a news release.
The investigation resulted in Hensley being indicted on 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. Hensley pleaded guilty to all charges in September 2022, prior to a trial that was scheduled to begin the same day.
The investigation, including a search of Hensley’s phone, led to the discovery of nude images that were later identified as being of minor female students at NEHS. A search of Hensley’s house resulted in the seizure of numerous electronic devices, including a small covert video camera. The devices contained image files depicting unidentified females in hospital rooms (including at Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville), airports and tanning beds, plus video files that appeared to be upskirt videos of adult and minor females.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Secret Service; the FBI; and the Clarksville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Morrison prosecuted the case.
Correction: The calculation on Hensley’s sentence is 24 years, 5 months. The article has been updated.