Wall Hawks Band Director Now Faces Federal Charges

SAN ANGELO, TX — The Wall ISD assistant band director Joshua Carroll, who was accused of messaging girls from an anonymous account on TikTok was re-arrested late yesterday, May 15, 2024, and placed on a U.S. Marshal hold.

The original charges originated from the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office for online solicitation of a minor. The sheriff’s office alleged that Carroll communicated via sexually explicit language describing sexual conduct, attempted to solicit sexually explicit photographs from underage females, and provided a pornographic photographic image to a female child younger than 15 years of age. Carroll was able to post a $45,000 bond that Justice of the Peace Eddie Howard slapped on his charges shortly after his arrest and was released.

The US Attorney of the Northern District of Texas became involved yesterday, according to court documents. Assistant US Attorney Whitney Ohlhausen in Abilene filed a motion for pretrial detention yesterday afternoon. She told the judge that Carroll’s charges involved a minor victim and that safety of persons or the community was in jeopardy unless Carroll was in custody. His initial appearance in federal court in Abilene was at 10 a.m. today where the judge is expected to sign the detention order.

Carroll is currently without an attorney. However, a financial affidavit by Carroll was filed with the court and this is the first step towards obtaining a court-appointed defense counsel.

According to Tom Green County Sheriff Nick Hanna, they were tipped off by school district administrative personnel at Wall ISD about several underage female students receiving sexually explicit communications from an unknown individual. This unknown individual was utilizing TikTok and a texting app.  The Sheriff's Office started a criminal investigation into the complaint.

The sheriff said that several girls were contacted by Carroll. After obtaining a search warrant, sheriff’s investigators downloaded the contents of Carroll’s electronic devices and found the anonymous account and messages. He was arrested shortly thereafter.

Wall ISD Superintendent Russell Dacy placed Carroll on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.

Carroll had been teaching at Wall High School since January 2022. The Texas Tech grad, according to his Facebook page, held previous teaching positions in Brownwood and Big Spring ISD.

Updated 11:05 a.m. - Carroll appeared in federal court in Abilene at 10 a.m. May 16, 2024. Magistrate Judge John R. Parker ordered Carroll to remain in custody. He was also granted court-appointed legal counsel.