(04/07/09 – Initial BadBadTeacher.com Report)
Louis J. Levine, 52, of Nashville, Tennessee, a science teacher who traveled among Murfreesboro City Schools and was also a substitute teacher in Nashville schools has been arrested on a federal warrant for producing child pornography.
Levine’s arrest was the result of a cooperative effort between Metro Nashville Sex Crimes detectives and FBI agents.
Levine came to the attention of authorities by way of a call from a concerned parent of a minor teenage boy. The parent expressed concern about teens spending time with Levine at his home and indicated that they believed Levine purchased alcohol and marijuana for the teens and allowed them the use of a bedroom for sex.
It is alleged that Levine provided drugs to teenagers and allowed them to engage in sex in his home or on his property over the course of the past 30 years.
During the course of the investigation authorities interviewed teenagers of today and persons who were teens in the 1970s and 80s and both groups allegedly made similar allegations regarding sex and drug activity at Levine’s home.
Some of those interviewed by police told investigators of Levine videotaping sexual encounters between the teens while others have told investigators that Levine showed them what appeared to be homemade sex videos.
It is further alleged that Levine had sexual contact with some of the teens.
The investigation into Levine’s alleged activities is continuing and state charges will possibly follow. Police ask that anyone with information regarding inappropriate behavior by Levine with minors is urged to contact the Metro Police Department’s Sex Crimes Unit at 862-7540.
Reportedly, Levine was placed on administrative leave from the Murfreesboro School System on April 1 after officials there learned he was under investigation. He has also reportedly been taken off the substitute teacher list for Nashville schools.
Reportedly Levine has in the past worked at the Adventure Science Center, formerly the Cumberland Science Museum, as an animal expert and teacher, as well as at several youth camps.
Levine made an initial appearance in federal court Tuesday afternoon and is scheduled for a detention hearing and a preliminary hearing on Friday.
The criminal complaint, in ‘PDF’ format, against Louis J. Levine is provided courtsey of the Nashville Police Department.
04/09/09 – Case Update
Investigators have reportedly identified even more teens who spent time at Levine’s home, some of them his own students. It is expected that more of them will be interviewed in the coming days.
A Metro police officer also confirmed Wednesday that Levine visited a youth camp operated by the Fraternal Order of Police with his father, Morris Levine, who gave comics to the children and sexually explicit magazines to the police officers working as camp counselors.
Reportedly, federal and state prosecutors expect to bring more charges as the investigation continues and investigators work their way through more than 400 homemade tapes seized from Levine’s padlocked bedroom.
If convicted of the charges filed thus far, Levine faces a minimum prison sentence of 15 years.
06/05/09 – Grand Jury Indictment
A federal grand jury has reportedly indicated Louis J. Levine on two counts of production of child pornography.
Levine has remained in custody since his April arrest.
It is expected that he will be arraigned next week.
06/24/09 – Trial Date Set
The federal trial date for Louis Levine has been set for August 11th in Nashville.
06/25/09 – Trial Delay Likely
Only two days after a trial date was set for Louis Levine, his new attorney who was hired on Tuesday, has indicated that the trial will likely be delayed from its scheduled August 11th start date.
Nashville attorney Peter Strianse says that he has not yet seen the federal government’s evidence against Levine.
Levine remains held without bond.
08/19/09 – Davidson County Grand Jury Indicts Levine
A Davidson County grand jury has reportedly indicted Louis J. Levine.
Reportedly, Levine appeared briefly in court where his attorney waived a reading of the charges.
It wasn’t immediately clear what Levine is newly charged with because the court did not unseal the indictment.
10/14/09 – Complaint Filed Four Years Earlier
The Tennesseean reports that in 2005 a man told the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services that when he was a teenager Levine sexually abused him.
Reportedly, the man reported the alleged abuse in hopes of preventing Levine from working with children any longer.
At the time, Levine was working as a substitute teacher at Metro Nashville public schools.
The Tennessean reports that:
Rob Johnson, spokesman at DCS, said he can’t speak specifically about the 2005 complaint made about Levine, but the agency is not able to launch a search for possible victims based on something that may have happened years ago.
These folks lived pretty close to the Trimble home, didn’t they? Everything was relative in that part of Nashville (maybe 2.5 miles from where I grew up)…never knew or visited this man, but heard of plenty that did back in the eighties. Why did it take the F.B.I. to also come down on this man?…..must not be such an ‘open and shut’ case.
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The Trimble home was several miles away from his place but could have been covered well with a bike. I lived about 3 blocks over from Levine and Marsha was over near Green Hills. I rode my bike to green hills many a day.
Something you have to understand. The old man Levine (now deceased) owned this house and was the one that put on the big Halloween book give away. Every Halloween kids came from everywhere in west Nashville to get free books. You would get a large paper grocery sack full of stuff ranging from anything from comic books to dictionary. There were little toys in the bag too. Never got any adult material till I got to 16.
I went from age 10 to about age 16 to get books from the Levieds. The whole family came out on Halloween to help the old man.He was pretty famous for his Halloween parties. He use to get media attention every year for it.
One year me and a buddy put together 10 different costumes and hid out in the neighbors back yard. We would go in different outfits and wound up getting a whole wagon full of magazines and toys. I think I was about 12 at the time.
Writing all of this stuff down is creeping me out a bit. I now feel like the last time I went there as a teenager I was being targeted for this sick guys porn stuff.
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I know this guy. I grew up just a few roads over from Alton. As a child I use to go to the old Man Leviens house on Halloween and they would give magazines to the kids. Apparently the old man had some sort of deal with a magazine publishing house.
I remember going one time when I was 16 years old or so and was given a bag full of playboy magazines by this guy. I thought at the time this guy creeped me out but never gave it another thought till I saw this case hit the news. It was the way he looked at me when he handed me the bag..but I took the bag and enjoyed the magazines.
Took my own son and daughter by there several times as a adult and got a “daddy bag”. Kids always got a load of regular books and stuff.
Looking back on this I wonder if the whole house was set up for bringing in children for porn purposes.????
We will probably not know all the sorted details.
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The school system must have had their eyes closed
That many years, that many kids, that many videos and noone said anything?
Guru, he was reported in 2005. Nobody did anything
Homey’s got half the town on tape doing the nasty. Some people get lost in their research, I guess.
Over 400 tapes!!! He has been doing this for over 30 years!!! It took 30 years for someone to say something!!!
I knew this guy he went to my 4th b-day party subed at my school and worked at my camp. i never expected him to be that sick.
This one is getting crazier and crazier as more info develops and is reported:
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090408/NEWS03/904080415