Head of Washington, D.C. Preschool Arrested on Online Child Abuse Charges: 'Deeply Unsettled'

• James Stewart Carroll, head of a preschool in Washington D.C., has been arrested on child abuse charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia
• Carroll communicated with an undercover officer posing as the father of a young child on messaging app Discord and directed him to abuse them, which eventually led to his arrest
• The National Child Research Center said Carroll has since been placed on administrative leave, according to a letter published by multiple outlets

The director of an elite preschool in Washington, D.C. has been arrested on child abuse charges.

James Stewart Carroll, the head of school at an early education center in Northwest Washington D.C., was arrested and charged in connection with attempted enticement and coercion of a minor on Tuesday, Nov. 19, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Per the release, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Carroll used the messaging app Discord to “communicate with an undercover officer who posed as the father of a young child” between Nov. 5-14.

“Carroll directed the undercover officer to abuse his child over a period of approximately two weeks. Law enforcement agents identified Carroll as the Discord user based on IP addresses that traced back to both his residence and workplace,” the release added.

The undercover agent pretended to be a separated father with a 9-year-old son, whom he sexually abused on a regular basis while he had custody of him every other weekend, The Independent reported, citing the complaint. The outlet reported Carroll had “encouraged the undercover agent to abuse his fictitious son,” per the documents.

NBC4 Washington, citing federal court documents, also reported that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. confirmed that agents had discovered the 55-year-old, who worked for the National Child Research Center (NCRC), “had engaged in conversations with other users about explicit child content” on the app.

Per The Independent and The Washington Post, the complaint included details of conversations Carroll allegedly had about “child sexual exploitation, circumcision of teenage boys, [and] urinating on teenage boys and adults.”

Local media outlet Fox 5 D.C. reported that the investigation began when a Discord employee reported that a suspected file containing alleged child sexual abuse material had been uploaded to the company’s servers on Sept. 11. Investigators managed to link the upload to Carroll, the outlet stated.

Citing an affidavit, the outlet added that Carroll said he had an interest in “boy pics” on the app, adding that his age preference was “8-12.”

According to The Independent, Carroll also communicated with the undercover agent using the messaging app Telegram.

Before his arrest, Carroll had been head of NCRC since 2018, per NBC4 Washington.

According to the letter sent to parents of children at the preschool by NCRC Board Chair, Megan Ortiz, on Tuesday, a copy of which was obtained by PEOPLE, Carroll has now been placed on administrative leave.

The letter stated, “While we do not have reason to believe Mr. Carroll’s conduct involves NCRC students or families, we do understand the arrest and charging follows an FBI investigation into Mr. Carroll’s online activity on social media channels and message boards,” per the outlets.

“Mr. Carroll has been instructed that he is not permitted to return to campus for any reason and is not to contact any member of the NCRC community. His access to his email, the school’s networks, and all school owned technology has been cut off,” the letter added.

Ortiz wrote, “Like you, my Board colleagues and I are shocked and deeply unsettled by this news,” according to the outlets.

Caroll made his first court appearance on Nov. 19, according to the release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. Per NBC4 Washington, Carroll’s next hearing is on Monday, Nov. 25.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

According to the NCRC website, the organization is “an independent preschool serving children in the Washington, D.C., area since 1928,” and teaches kids between ages 2-5.

Tuition at the preschool can cost as much as $42,000 per year, per the website.

The FBI did not immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE. It’s not clear if Carroll has obtained an attorney.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.