Former Ohio school superintendent accused of luring kids to his car and kidnapping them

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (TCD) -- A former school superintendent was taken into custody last week for allegedly kidnapping two children and offering them money to babysit his 4-year-old.

According to a statement, on Aug. 25, detectives with the Huntington Police Department, SWAT Team, Huntington Violent Crime/Drug Talk Force, and Barboursville Police Department took 59-year-old William Morrison III into custody on two counts of kidnapping.

Huntington Police allege Morrison "lured two children into his vehicle" on Aug. 17. Investigators executed a search warrant at Morrison's home in Huntington and another at an apartment in Barboursville.

According to court documents cited by WBNS-TV, Morrison allegedly approached a 9-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl in his black SUV and offered them $20 to watch his child. The children reportedly got in the car, and when they stopped at an intersection, Morrison had the boy get out on the pretense of inspecting a tire. Morrison allegedly drove away once the boy got out of the car.

The girl reportedly started crying inside the car and asking to be let out. Morrison allegedly upped his babysitting offer from $20 to $100.

NBC News, which also cites the documents, says police wrote in the statement, "The man ignored the girl’s demands to be let out of the vehicle, but the girl was able to open a passenger door and exit the vehicle a few blocks away."

Neither child was injured during the alleged kidnapping.

In 2017, Morrison, who worked as the superintendent for the Hamilton Local School District in Columbus, Ohio, was fired after police reportedly found crack cocaine in his car, the Columbus Dispatch reports. Morrison pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a counterfeit controlled substance, and he was sentenced to 180 days in jail with 176 suspended.

Morrison is currently being held at the Western Regional Jail.

MORE:

• Arrest - Huntington Police Department
• Former central Ohio superintendent charged with kidnapping 2 children in West Virginia - WBNS
• Former Ohio school superintendent accused of kidnapping 2 kids in West Virginia - NBC News
• Hamilton Local superintendent fired over recent drug arrest, 10/5/2017 - Columbus Dispatch