A 78-year-old New Braunfels man who worked as a school bus driver for Navarro ISD was sentenced to 30 years in prison July 29 for possession of more than 500 “visual depictions” of child pornography.
In a statement today, the Comal County Criminal District Attorney’s Office said investigators with the Texas Attorney General’s Office Child Exploitation Unit (TX OAG) and New Braunfels Police Department (NBPD) executed a search warrant at the New Braunfels residence of Michael Paul Morrish on Sept. 26, 2023, and seized multiple electronic devices and digital storage media.
A forensic analysis of the devices uncovered thousands of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, including infants.
Law enforcement was alerted to Morrish by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Cyber Tipline, which on Feb. 18, 2023 received an electronic report from Microsoft indicating a user had uploaded a file containing child sexual-abuse material via Bing Image.
Investigators traced the IP address associated with the upload to Morrish’s residence and conducted surveillance at both the man’s home and at Navarro ISD.
Morrish was fired upon his subsequent arrest on Sept. 26, 2023.
The New Braunfels man told investigators he began viewing child pornography in 2005.
“We prosecute these cases because these aren’t just images,” said Assistant District Attorney Henna Le Vasseur, who prosecuted the case with assistance from investigators Ashley Eicher and Brian Kempler.
“These are real children that had their innocence taken away and placed on the internet for anyone to see. Every time someone views, downloads or watches child pornography, those children are re-victimized again. Once something is on the internet, it’s out there forever and these people need to be held accountable for their actions.”
The district attorney also thanked NBPD Sgt. Kurt Thomas and TX OAG staff, noting evidence in these types of cases is exgremely graphic and difficult to review.
Morrish was sentenced by Judge Tracie Wright-Reneau of the 207th District Court.
In a September 2023 statement, Navarro ISD Superintendent Mandy Epley said the district did not believe any students were involved in the incident leading up to his arrest.
