KENOSHA, Wis. — Prosecutors have filed charges against the superintendent of Union Grove High School, alleging child sex abuse material was found on his phone during an investigation into allegations that he had inappropriate contact with previous students.
Thomas W. Johnson, 51, is charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, according to a criminal complaint filed on Thursday, Nov. 5.
Racine County
Union Grove High School superintendent part of child sexual abuse material probe
Johnson was booked into the Kenosha County Jail Wednesday morning after investigators executed a search warrant at his Kenosha home.
Prosecutors say the investigation began after the Racine County Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous letter on Oct. 22, 2026, alleging that Johnson had exchanged inappropriate text messages with previous students.
In the letter, the person alleged that they’d been having an affair with Johnson for several years and claimed to have discovered the inappropriate text exchanges on Johnson’s phone while he was “passed out on the deck.”
They also alleged that the conversations included photo exchanges and claimed that Johnson would get them fired if they “ever said anything to anyone.”
“Just the other day he made a comment and now I can’t keep quiet. This man needs to be investigated,” the anonymous tipster said.
Interview with investigators
Johnson was interviewed by investigators with the Racine police on Oct. 23, where prosecutors say he admitted to the affair but denied the allegations made in the anonymous letter.
Investigators allegedly looked through his phone and returned it to him after initially being unable to locate any illegal material on his phone. However, prosecutors said Johnson’s phone appeared to have “substantial amounts of information deleted” and told him that it did “not look good and was suspicious.”
During a manual review of his phone, however, prosecutors say his recent phone activity raised several flags for investigators.
A few days later, investigators with the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office obtained a warrant for the download of Johnson’s phones and DMs, which prosecutors allege revealed two images “on the defendant’s phone constituted Child Pornography.”
A search warrant of Johnson’s home was executed on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and he was taken into custody.
Prosecutors say when asked about the photos, Johnson “continually denied knowledge of how these were on his phone and would not state how he would have possible come across these.”
What's next
Johnson made his initial appearance in court on Thursday, Nov. 5, where a judge set his cash bond at $250,000 and ordered him to have no contact with minors and no social media.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 12 at 10:30 a.m.
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