The Forrest Police Department issued the following statement.
The Forest Police Department has formally escalated its investigation into senior leadership of the Forest Municipal School District to federal authorities, submitting evidence and a supplemental memorandum to the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Mississippi, Child Exploitation/Public Corruption Unit.
The referral follows the discovery of two separate sexual abuse cases involving students and an alleged pattern of delayed mandatory reporting, internal handling of criminal allegations, obstruction of law enforcement investigations, and mishandling of evidence by school district officials.
The escalation was initiated by Timothy Geter, Chief Investigator with the Forest Police Department Criminal Investigation Division, after local prosecution efforts stalled. The District Attorney declined further action, and an appointed special prosecutor failed to pursue obstruction and hindering charges despite documented statutory violations.
ALLEGED CONDUCT AND TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Case One: Austin Taylor — Assistant Coach / Teacher
Investigators allege that on or about September 16, 2025, senior administrators within the Forest Municipal School District were notified of allegations that Austin Taylor, an assistant coach and teacher, had engaged in sexual battery, grooming, and related offenses involving a 16-year-old female student.
Despite this notification, law enforcement and Child Protective Services were not immediately contacted, as required by Mississippi law. Instead, investigators allege that the district conducted an internal investigation, during which administrators reportedly concluded that “nothing illegal had occurred.”
During this period—spanning approximately 18 days—Taylor allegedly remained on campus and in proximity to students. The victim later reported continued harassment during the time Taylor was allowed to remain at school.
Notification to the Mississippi Department of Education was delayed and later disputed. Investigators report that required documentation was not timely produced and that Child Protective Services was never notified.
On September 30, 2025, Taylor was arrested on felony charges including sexual battery, grooming, enticement of a child, computer luring, and molestation. Prior to his arrest, Taylor was stopped by law enforcement and found in possession of three resignation letters, stating he was en route to submit them to the school—raising concerns that the delay may have allowed an opportunity for quiet separation rather than immediate intervention.
Case Two: Nicole Lara — Color Guard Instructor
A second investigation involves Nicole Lara, who was working with the school band program during the summer of 2025. Investigators allege that Lara groomed a 17-year-old male student during band camp and later engaged in explicit Snapchat communications with the student.
District officials were allegedly notified of these allegations between September 23 and September 24, 2025. Despite the disclosure of sexual conduct, investigators allege that law enforcement was not immediately notified, nor were Child Protective Services, the Mississippi Department of Education, or the District Attorney.
Instead, investigators allege that Lara was instructed to delete Snapchat messages and social media communications involving students. During the investigation, police further allege that a student’s phone containing relevant communications was wiped of evidence before being turned over to law enforcement.
The district publicly characterized Lara as a “volunteer.” However, investigators later obtained records indicating Lara was issued a W-9, designated as the color guard instructor, and paid through district-connected band funds.
Critical evidence—including explicit images, witness statements, and full suspect identification—was not provided to investigators until November 5, 2025, despite repeated requests across more than 15 email exchanges. Investigators allege that administrators had possession of this evidence since September 23, and that it took only several hours on November 5 to produce materials that had been withheld for weeks.
Lara was arrested on November 6, 2025, for grooming and inappropriate communications with a minor.
OBSTRUCTION AND INTERFERENCE ALLEGATIONS
During the course of these investigations, Forest Police allege additional acts of obstruction, including:
- A witness interview being interrupted by a school administrator’s spouse, who allegedly relayed a message from Superintendent Dr. Melanie Nelson instructing the witness not to speak.
- Repeated delays in producing evidence already in the possession of district officials.
- Incomplete or missing witness statements.
- Internal handling of allegations in place of immediate external reporting.
Investigators assert that these actions may constitute hindering prosecution, witness tampering, and evidence suppression under Mississippi law, and potentially implicate federal civil rights and Title IX violations.
FEDERAL CONTEXT AND ESCALATION
The current Superintendent of Forest Municipal School District, Dr. Melanie R. Nelson (appointed August 2023), is married to Earl Joe Nelson, a former Mississippi superintendent.
On January 20, 2026, Earl Joe Nelson pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit embezzlement, involving inflated consulting contracts and diversion of public education funds across multiple school districts—conduct concealed until federal intervention.
Investigators note the relevance of this context, citing parallel patterns of institutional self-preservation, delayed disclosure, and concealment of misconduct until external oversight was imposed.
REQUESTED FEDERAL ACTION
The Forest Police Department has requested that federal authorities:
- Coordinate with the FBI to review evidence for Title IX deliberate indifference, deprivation of rights under color of law, obstruction, and public corruption.
- Consider whether these cases reflect broader systemic failures in mandatory reporting within Mississippi rural school districts.
- Provide independent prosecutorial oversight where local conflicts exist.
- Ensure appropriate victim and witness advocacy resources are made available.
As stated in a prior Department of Justice prosecution involving Mississippi public schools, Scott F. Leary observed:
“The protection and education of children goes to the very heart of who we are as a people. Those that violate this sacred trust will face the consequences of their actions.”
27 comments:
This and other recent examples of school coverups are the tip-of-the-iceburg. The DOJ should investigate the entire Mississippi Department of Education as MANY instances of suspected child abuse are specifically directed to be ignored by "administrators" in positions of leadership who can't stomach their responsibilities to protect children over their precious "optics".
"Nothing illegal happened"....is a common mantra used to intimidate and shame staff/faculty/healthcare professionals into silence, when "suspicion" is the threshold, then let the CPS investigators sort it out.
The whole of Mississippi needs a serious enema. It's truly sickening how so many call themselves Christians when the slightest bit of discomfort makes them look away when evil is bearing down on a child.
Good job, Mississippi! Another national embarrassment! So glad I escaped! Enjoy your ignominiousness!
No matter how bad things get in other states. The rest of the country can rely on Mississippi to exclaim “HOLD MY BEER!”
Do your damn jobs, let the chips fall and move on! Why protect and not REPORT! When you don’t allow the proper authorities to investigate, it makes me WONDER!
It would be unfortunate if the school staff were able to use these students’ very public, very “adult” social media “content” to defend themselves when asked why they looked the other way.
Plus these girls have the right to wear semi transparent lululemon yoga pants to school every day, right?
They make all that naughty social media content and wear those tight see through yoga pants for Chad Quarterback. Not for creepy old Mr. Taylor the maths teacher to look at.
Commenters here give me great comfort with their reassurance these type things never happen elsewhere.
They appropriately fear sound litigation for incompetence or willful ignorance of the law.
The MS school system is a free for all. Ask any educator on their way out the door.
The DA's office in Scott County can't see the Forest for the Trees.
Self-serving, often over paid Public School administrators are the enemy of kids and education. Parental Choice in Education can save kids from administrator-predators by supporting better schools over depraved, under -performing schools.
"Christian" can be a mere cultural appendix, not applicable in this case. In a recent business meeting among 7 people where existing legal documents were deficient or missing, one person wanted to press ahead, stating: "We're all Christians, right?"
They are protecting their "rice bowl." "Nothing to see here, move along."
All this means that our fine governor and whipsmart legislators must get together on legislation that protects our education establishment from litigation, any burdens of pecuniary damages, penal servitude, and just plain old gossipy scandal-ity. What the education establishment needs is a Barbour-style tort reform tailored toward teachers and administrators.
Interesting “hot take” @8:04 AM. Can you please give us the time stamp of the comment that said that? Or did you just hear that from the voices inside your head?
Teens are allowed to wear pajamas and sleeping clothes to school as if they are ready to go to bed? School ain’t Walmart on Friday nights! Some School Administrators are gutless! This Liberal shit is killing our schools.
CAN save kids, Krusatyr... but, in reality, WILL simply destroy good schools, and the good communities which created them. Bad kids from bad families will be inserted into the good schools. And they'll be hanging-out in the good communities (now that they're in those communities' schools, why not?).
The implosion of the bad schools in bad areas, will be matched by expansion of the good schools in good areas. And guess who will be applying for jobs in the good schools? It'll be the bad teachers and horndog coaches and mega-sicko band directors and corrupt administrators from the bad schools. It's INEVITABLE.
Guess who'll be buying houses in the soon-to-be-FORMERLY-good communities? It'll be those awful educators, and the band directors who encourage violent hazing, and the coaches who'll rub their junk on anything with a pulse.
And with 'Right to Life' firmly ensconced in Mississippi law, you can count on a doubling of the percentage of bad kids (who'll grow up to become the bad coaches/teachers/administrators). This certainly benefits the hostile foreign nations, which tweak both Liberal and "Conservative" Astroturf Movements, in the hopes of destroying our nation.
Locally, and in the more immediate future, School Choice benefits the Carpetbagger/GoldCoast Dynasties, who own the developable land in the Jackson Metro. School Choice will help destroy the good communities, and thus keep the area's populace in a state of perpetual flight - the only way for the Carpetbagger Dynasties to sell their newest developments, in a metro whose prosperous population is stagnant.
I strongly suggest some of you learn how our current systems and the laws that govern them actually work before you start " tinkering".
I strongly suggest you learn something about what Children's Protective Services can and cannot do in their efforts to protect children.
The ability to even get a BSW and MSW in this state came decades after the programs existed in other southern states . The requirements for being a social worker here was a college degree in MS. And, worse, do you think a BSW or MSW wanted to come back here and work for a supervisor or department head that had a degree in geography and 20 years in state government?
As a School Administrator my job is to ensure our kids get a quality education from quality teachers. There are too many single men and women in this world for adults not to be messing with kids under the age of 21.
If there is an inkling of malfeasance or suggestion of wrongdoings, I am going to investigate, suspend, report and let the system take its course on yo ass!
Dang, I ain’t a School Administrator but I do know how to act like one and will report wrongdoings to the proper authorities.
This wound not be an issue if this was reported thru the chain of command and protocols!
Why protect scumbags?
I didn’t know the School was there to protect teachers and staff, this shigity is ass backwards!
Mandatory sentencing guidelines for males/females. Too many female teachers get slap on wrist which obviously they are in to that.
And as usual, the creeps who love to victim shame crawl out from under their rock for a few minutes to make an internet post.
The commentor who mentioned yoga pants either works at a high school or has recently been on campus because it’s like ass-city these days. These girls dress like hoes!
Teachers and school administrators don't belong on social media.
16 year olds desperately trying to be the next Cardi B, Dua Lipa, or Olivia Rodrigo, don’t need to be on social media either.
Where are you getting the information about Lara and the victim being instructed to delete evidence? Been unable to find it elsewhere
This was a police press release. Take it up with them.
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