A former Mesquite ISD teacher will spend 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography in Rockwall County.
Chad Beery pleaded guilty to an enhanced first-degree felony charge involving images depicting the sexual assault of a child younger than 10. Rockwall County District Court Judge Brett Hall handed down the sentence Friday, Aug. 28, according to the Rockwall County Herald-Banner.
The case started with a tip. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) alerted the North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force that Beery had shared child pornography files with other users through a social media messaging platform, according to the Rockwall County District Attorney's Office.
Rockwall Police Detective Michael Manuel took over the investigation in November 2025. He arrested Beery and seized electronic devices from Beery's home.
Forensic analysis of those devices turned up additional illegal images and conversations between Beery and other online predators, the DA's office said. Prosecutors initially filed multiple lesser charges before indicting Beery on the enhanced first-degree felony.
Rockwall County Assistant District Attorney Jacob Piper said Beery violated the trust the community places in its educators and credited the Rockwall Police Department, NCMEC and the ICAC Task Force for building the case.
Rockwall County District Attorney Kenda Culpepper said her office will keep pursuing similar cases aggressively. "We will continue to prosecute these offenders with the most serious offenses available," Culpepper said. Blue Ribbon News also reported the sentence Friday.
Residents can report tips about online exploitation of children to NCMEC at CyberTipline.org or by calling 1-800-843-5678.
