DESOTO COUNTY, Miss. — A DeSoto Central Elementary School teacher was arrested Tuesday on a charge of possession of child pornography.

Mitchell Cantrell was a fifth-grade teacher at the school, but WREG has learned he is no longer teaching there.

No students are involved with this incident, Southaven Police said.

Now, WREG is speaking with one family whose child had Cantrell for a teacher.

“We were aware and all that stuff, we were just waiting for the report that it actually is true or not,” Frank Patel said.

Patel asked WREG not to show his or his daughter’s face due to the serious allegations brought against his daughter’s former teacher.

“That is the most scariest part – the fact that my daughter actually had him as a teacher and she was looking up to him,” Patel said. “And, facing something like this is strange.”

Patel said Cantrell taught his daughter in first and third grade.

She said while she doesn’t understand the charges fully, it’s still a lot to take in.

“I actually don’t understand what it is, but that he got arrested,” she said. “I’m actually like – like I didn’t know he was going to like be weird or stuff.”

Details of the investigation are limited but officers said they were made aware of this situation during DeSoto County School’s spring break.

It was then that they received a tip that a teacher at the elementary school was downloading inappropriate videos and images of minors or children.

“I am glad he got caught and she doesn’t have to face him anymore,” Frank Patel said.

Patel told WRG that while he applauds police and the school district’s swift action, he’s hoping they’ll be more careful next time.

“They need to do some more checking before they hire anybody else,” he said.