Union Grove High School superintendent pleads not guilty to two child pornography charges

KENOSHA, Wis. — November 13, 2026

Union Grove High School Superintendent Thomas Johnson pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of possession of child pornography Thursday, Nov. 12, in Kenosha County Circuit Court. Johnson, 51, waived his preliminary hearing, and a court commissioner bound him over for trial.

Johnson remains out of custody after posting a $250,000 cash bond, which the court continued Thursday. At his Nov. 5 initial appearance, the court ordered him to have no contact with minors and stay off social media. His next appearance is a judicial pretrial hearing on Monday, Jan. 4, 2027, at 10:30 a.m.

After Thursday’s hearing, defense attorney Patrick Cafferty said the defense was still gathering information and would present Johnson’s account when appropriate.

How the investigation began

According to the criminal complaint, the Racine County Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous letter on Oct. 22 alleging Johnson had inappropriate messages on his phone involving people the writer believed were current or former students. Investigators did not find the messages described in the letter. Racine County referred the investigation to the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 27.

A later forensic search of Johnson’s personal phone turned up two images that investigators identified as child sexual abuse material, according to the complaint. The complaint did not identify anyone depicted in the images as a student. Prosecutors said Johnson denied knowing how the images got onto his phone.

At about 5:42 a.m. on Nov. 4, Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office detectives executed a search warrant at Johnson’s home in the 37000 block of 52nd Street. Detectives seized several electronic devices and took Johnson into custody. Prosecutors filed the two felony charges on Nov. 5.

Johnson remains on unpaid leave

The Union Grove Union High School Board of Education placed Johnson on unpaid leave and named high school principal Tom Blair acting district administrator. The district said it is cooperating with law enforcement and has made additional mental health support available to students and staff. Johnson took over as district administrator in July 2023 after serving as principal of Union Grove Elementary School.

Stay tuned to Kenosha County Scanner for severe weather, police, fire, EMS activity and local news.