Former Wichita Northwest High School teacher arrested, charged with child sex crimes
An English and debate teacher who used to work for the Wichita Public School District has been charged with child sex crimes.
Wichita police say 48-year-old Shawn P. Wingfield of Wichita was arrested over the weekend on two counts of sexual exploitation of a child. Agency spokesman Officer Charley Davidson said the department “was alerted about concerning text messages sent by Wingfield” in June.
“Further investigation into the text messages led to the arrest of Wingfield on Saturday,” Davidson said, adding that police presented their findings to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, which filed formal charges.
The specific subsection of the statute Wingfield is accused of violating, K.S.A. 21-5510(a)(2), deals with the possession of child pornography. The crime is a felony.
Wingfield was a teacher at Wichita Northwest High School but has since resigned, district spokeswoman Susan Arensman said Monday by email. He was employed from Aug. 1, 1997, to July 19 and most recently taught debate and gifted English, she said.
A 2017 district booklet noting employee retirements and longevity posted online recognized Wingfield for 20 years of service and listed him as a gifted-program teacher. And Northwest’s website still listed him as a “gifted-6” teacher on Monday afternoon.
Another document posted online shows he was associated with the Northwest scholars bowl team during the 2020-21 academic year.
Wingfield was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail at 9:14 p.m. on Saturday, an online log of inmates shows. Just prior to his booking, he posted a public message on Facebook on Saturday evening that reads: “Time for me to check out for a while. A little earlier than I had hoped. See everyone, I hope, on the other side.”
A woman who responded to his Facebook post on Monday morning claimed that Wingfield sent her “child porn via a text message as well as expressed ... intent to harm a child.” The woman did not immediately respond to a message from The Eagle asking for an interview.
In a July 19 Facebook post, Wingfield said he resigned from the district that morning after 25 years for “reasons involving personal health and well being,” adding that he thought his departure was “the best decision for myself” as well as “for the district and my students.”
“And while I do regret the timing of this decision so close to the start of the new school year, I believe that to stay any longer would prove to be a greater inconvenience to everyone in the end,” he wrote without giving further details about his reasons for leaving.
Wingfield remained in the Sedgwick County Jail on Monday afternoon. His bond is $50,000. He made a first appearance in court on Monday afternoon and is due in court again for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 12.
Court records show Wingfield is barred from having contact with any child under age 18 “without an authorized responsible adult being present.” He also can’t contact any victim or witness for the state and will be represented by a public defender.
This story was originally published July 26, 2021 at 12:36 PM.
