51黑料

Cedric Gerald, 48, has been the principal at Westview Middle School in the Riverview Gardens School District since 2023.

Four students told police that Gerald had acted inappropriately with them, officers wrote in court documents.

Police said Gerald engaged in sexual acts with the students at the school and paid them for inappropriate video calls and texts.

Gerald admitted to several of the disclosures made by the students, police said.

Several district officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

But, in a statement, the district said it put Gerald on administrative leave once it learned of the students鈥� disclosures.

鈥淲e appreciate the patience of our school community as we move through this difficult situation,鈥� the statement said.

Authorities charged Gerald with sexual trafficking of a child, sexual exploitation of a minor, possessing child pornography, attempted statutory sodomy, sexual misconduct involving a child under 15, sexual contact with a student, first-degree harassment and two counts of second-degree statutory sodomy.

The nine charges detail the misconduct, which began in January 2023 and continued through this month, police said.

In two of those charges, police said Gerald created child pornography by paying a boy to send him a video of the boy masturbating.

Two other charges say he exposed himself to another student, who was younger than 14.

Police said he raped another student at least twice and had sexual contact with that student at the school.

The fourth student told police Gerald had looked at his genitals in the school bathroom.

Gerald is being held on a $1 million cash bond, police said.

Gerald was the principal of McCluer High, in the Ferguson-Florissant School District, until he resigned in June 2023.

He claimed in a lawsuit filed in December that Ferguson-Florissant Superintendent Joseph Davis would invite Gerald to happy hours and attempt to talk about Gerald鈥檚 sex life because Gerald was a gay man.

The lawsuit also said Davis withheld resources from McCluer High after Gerald declined to provide intimate details.

Gerald鈥檚 suit was filed the same day as one by former McCluer North principal Frank Williams, who alleged he was demoted for refusing a sexual advance made by Davis.

The district said parents with specific concerns about Gerald鈥檚 conduct with their children should contact the superintendent at 314-869-2505, Tammy Vega with the Missouri children鈥檚 division at 314-605-0618, or 51黑料 County Police Det. Brett Belcher at 314-615-5400.

Monica Obradovic of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.