A former Ohio superintendent has been accused of kidnapping two children in West Virginia, according to authorities.
William Morrison, a 59-year-old from Huntington, West Virginia, was arrested last week and charged with two felony counts of kidnapping, the Huntington Police Department said in a statement.
He allegedly lured a 9-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl into his car by offering them $20 to babysit a child, police said. Both children were able to escape from Morrison without any injuries, per authorities.
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The children were driven to an undisclosed area, where Morrison told the boy to get out to inspect a tire, and after the boy got out, Morrison drove off with the girl, police said. Morrison allegedly increased the bribe to $100 when the girl began to cry, said a criminal complaint reported by the Associated Press.
“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,” police said.
The alleged kidnapping is not the first mark on Morrison’s criminal record.
Morrison, who was the superintendent of the Hamilton Local School District near Columbus, Ohio, was placed on administrative leave after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge in 2017. Police say crack cocaine was found in his car, and he was later fired as superintendent, according to the Associated Press.
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Morrison is being held without bail at the Western Regional Jail in Barboursville, West Virginia, as of Tuesday. Records did not indicate whether he has a lawyer available for comment, per AP.
