FARMINGTON, Mo. – A Farmington kindergarten teacher faces 10 felony charges over child pornography offenses.
On Tuesday, the Ste. Genevieve County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office formally charged Erika Leigh Morton, 35, with five counts of promoting child pornography and five counts of possession of child pornography.
Court documents obtained by FOX 2 identified Morton as Farmington resident and a “kindergarten teacher at a public school in St. Francois County.”
According to court documents, Morton shared five videos through messaging platform Kik as part of “sexually charged conversations” with another user. Investigators say the videos were sent in January and February to at least one victim under 18 years old. The videos involved sexual acts with children under 18 years old, per court documents.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol followed up on a Cybertip that led to Morton being identified as a suspect. When questioned by authorities, Morton said she sent files from her home, had numerous sexual conversations on Kik and received videos from other users.
According to a report from The Daily Journal Online, a Farmington-area news organization, Morton was previously employed by the Farmington R-7 School District, but the school district informed them that is no longer the case. In December 2024, according to minutes from a Farmington School District Board meeting, Morton was recognized as “Teacher of the Year” for the Truman Learning Center.
Morton was booked into jail in St. Genevieve County on a $1 million cash-only bond, according to Missouri online court records.
