Former Virginia Beach teacher faces charges including child porn possession and making threats
VIRGINIA BEACH — A former Kempsville High School physical education teacher is facing multiple charges including threatening to 'mow down' school administrators with an assault rifle, coming to campus with knives and a hatchet in his car and possessing child pornography.
Joseph Molineaux, 59, is being held without bond in the city jail following his arrest last month. His charges include making threats in writing, possessing weapons on school property, trespassing after being forbidden, and five counts of possessing child pornography.
Police found the pornography — as well as two loaded assault rifles — at Molineaux's Virginia Beach home, according to court records.
Molineaux worked for Virginia Beach schools for more than 23 years, beginning in August 1999 and ending in February 2023 with his retirement, according to the school division. On April 25, police were called to Kempsville High after he showed up on campus. They found two large knives and a hatchet inside his car, court records said.
Police learned that Molineaux had sent a text to his mother the day before he went to the school, in which he referred to his dog, saying that the pet 'grounds me and keeps me from going into Walmart or into Kempsville High School with an AK-47 and mowing down administration,' the records said.
The Virginia Beach Public Defender's Office is representing Molineaux. A spokesman didn't immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
The child pornography was found in scrapbooks at Molineaux's house and on his phone, court records said. One section of a scrapbook was labeled, 'Only 16!!!' and included images of a partially dressed girl engaged in a sex act, the records said.
During an interview with police, Molineaux said he meant no harm and was intoxicated when he sent the text to his mother, the records said.
'He said he would never do anything like that and was frustrated,' according to a statement by police on a bail checklist. 'He said he was just venting to his mother.'
Police described Molineaux as polite and cooperative throughout the interview. His next court date is scheduled for July 24.
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Virginia man convicted in 2023 ambush, murder of NJ councilwoman
A man accused of ambushing and killing New Jersey councilwoman and evangelical minister Eunice Dwumfour was found guilty Monday of her murder. Rashid Ali Bynum, 30, was convicted by a jury of nine men and three women after five hours of deliberation Friday and another hour and 15 minutes on Monday morning, the Newark Star Ledger reported. Dwumfour's husband and other family members wept at the verdict. The Newark-born and raised Dwumfour, 30, a Republican serving her first term on the Sayreville Council, had just dropped off a roommate after coming home from Walmart the night she was shot. She went to park while he brought the groceries into their rented home at the Camelot at La Mer apartment complex. At 7:22 p.m. she was shot 14 times while sitting in her car. The car rolled downhill about 100 feet and smashed into two parked cars. Surveillance footage later surfaced of a mysterious figure fleeing the scene, corroborating neighbors' descriptions. Dwumfour had beaten a Democratic incumbent in 2021 to become the town's first Black elected official. She was also a staple in the community for her work in the church. She lived at the Camelot at La Mer apartment complex with her preteen daughter and two roommates. Just a few months earlier she had a fellow pastor of her Nigeria-based church, the prosperity gospel group Champions Royal Assembly. Husband Peter Ezechukwu was due to arrive from Nigeria that spring. Police finally caught up with and arrested Bynum, a former church associate of Dwumfour's, in August 2023. He was indicted on murder and weapons charges the same month and denied bail. Bynum's attorney, Michael Ashley, told reporters after the verdict 'there was no direct evidence' his client had pulled the trigger, and that Bynum 'almost certainly' planned to appeal. He's scheduled for sentencing in August and faces 30 years to life in prison. With News Wire Services
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Little Rock man with dishonorable discharge gets 12-year federal sentence for gun possession
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A Little Rock man received a 12-year sentence in federal prison on Friday. Officials with the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas said 26-year-old James Charles Hart of Wynne received the sentence as the result of a Dec. 7, 2023 complaint. He was indicted in January 2023 for being a dishonorably discharged person in possession of a firearm and possession of an unregistered firearm. Little Rock man gets 20 years in federal prison for drugs, guns Hart pleaded guilty on Jan. 6 to the first charge, possession of a firearm by a dishonorably discharged person. In addition to the 12-year sentence, the judge sentenced Hart to three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Officials said Hart was dishonorably discharged from the Navy in August of 2021 after being convicted in a court martial of advocating supremacist and extremist doctrine, ideology and causes, larceny of military property, and selling firearms without a license. The court martial found that his conduct included advocating for killing military members and encouraging others to take up the cause and recruit others. During the court-martial, Hart told the presiding judge that he was not kidding when he made those statements. Former Monroe County district judge sentenced to federal prison for obstruction Hart was told that as someone with a dishonorable discharge, he was not allowed to own guns. In April 2023, however, FBI investigators found that Hart entered a home's driveway dressed in a tactical vest and carrying an AR-style rifle. He told the homeowners he was patrolling the neighborhood for looters and they told him to leave, officials said. The FBI arrested Hart in December 2023. During subsequent search warrants of his house and car, investigators said they found 'numerous' handguns, shotguns, AR and AK-patterned rifles, and 'NFA weapons,' a class of weapons including machine guns and sawed-off shotguns. They also reported finding thousands of rounds of ammunition, ammunition magazines, ballistic helmets, body armor, gas masks, and tactical gear. Central Arkansas felon gets 30 years in federal prison after gun, drugs guilty plea Officials said searchers also found Confederate and Nazi flags. Officials said a search of his phone revealed Hart was planning a robbery in Tennessee in partnership with militia members. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Local Nintendo Switch 2 orders not delivered, Boardman police investigating
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) — Police are investigating after numerous Nintendo Switch 2 orders placed with a local Walmart were allegedly not delivered. Read next: Fugitive of the Week known to be in local area Boardman Police were called to the Walmart location at 1300 Doral Drive just before 11 a.m. Saturday for reports of a theft. When police arrived, a loss prevention employee for the store told officers that numerous people had ordered the new Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World Bundle online for local delivery via Spark Driver, a delivery service introduced by Walmart. At 6:14 a.m., reports state the Spark Driver arrived at the store and collected 14 orders for local delivery. However, only one of those deliveries was fulfilled, according to reports. At about 8:44 a.m., the driver initiated returns, which signals that the deliveries were not completed and the product should be returned to the store, according to reports. The loss prevention employee told police they never received those products. When employees attempted to get in contact with the driver, reports state they were initially told the driver had been involved in an accident and was taken to the hospital. Employees called police later in the morning on Saturday, after claiming they were unable to make further contact with the driver. But when police looked into the matter, reports state that there were no reported accidents involving the driver or their registered vehicle. The case was forwarded to the detective division for further investigation. First News is continuing to investigate. Check back at for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
