Atlanta Elementary School Principal Caught In Sex Sting Operation

The former suburban Atlanta elementary school principal arrested in a child sex sting in DeKalb County in March was indicted Friday by a federal grand jury, according to Georgia court documents.

The sting, called “Operation Broken Heart,” involved dozens of police agencies who chatted online with the individuals and set up meeting places where they thought they would be meeting children under 16-years-old for sex.

“They communicated with child predators through chat rooms or ads and the child predators communicated with them and talked to them about when to have sex,” said Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Sherry Lang.

John McGill, 56, the principal for seven years at Mt. Carmel Elementary School in Douglas County, was among those arrested during the sting.

A federal warrant was issued Tuesday for the arrest of the elementary school principal who was accused of attempting to arrange sex with a 13-year-old via the Internet and text messages, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Prosecutors said McGill responded to a Craigslist “casual encounters” ad on March 1 that was alleged to be from a mother looking for someone to offer her “young teen daughter some … fatherly attention.”

After communicating via emails and text messages with a police officer pretending to be the mother, prosecutors said McGill agreed to drive from his Villa Rica home to Lithonia for a sexual encounter with the daughter.

According to the court documents, McGill “knowingly attempted to persuade, induce, and entice an individual who had not attained the age of 18 years to engage in sexual activity.”

McGill’s attorney Mac Pilgrim could not be reached for comment, but did offer after his client’s probable cause hearing in March that Mr McGill had no illegal contact with a child.

“My client never touched a child,” Pilgrim said at the time. “My client never communicated with a child.”

McGill, after his arrest, was also ordered to stay away from minors, including any unsupervised contact with his three stepchildren, ages 9, 14 and 17.

In March, at the time of the initial investigation, a representative of the Douglas County School System said to CBS News that Mr. McGill was suspended pending the investigation, but was later asked to resign his post.

[Photo Credit: Douglas County School]