PETERSBURG, Va. β Two Chesterfield County Schools employees are facing dozens of child pornography charges after an investigation that began at Southpark Mall in Colonial Heights.
Shaun Jason Adams, 49, of Petersburg, and Richard Franklin Troshak III, 33, of Chesterfield County, have been arrested and remain behind bars without bond.
The investigation began July 22 when Colonial Heights Police were called to the Regal Cinemas at Southpark Mall after reports that Adams may have been taking photos of children in the bathroom.
Police said what they found on Adams' phone led to his arrest for possession of child pornography.
"Once we look at a phone, you start leaning towards where people sent messages, sent pictures and those are the ones that lead to the other investigation," said Colonial Heights Commonwealth's Attorney Gray Collins.
That investigation led to Troshak's arrest.
He faces eight counts of felony manufacturing of child pornography and two felony counts of indecent liberties with a child.
Adams faces 25 counts of felony manufacturing of child pornography and five felony counts of indecent liberties with a child.
Both men worked for Chesterfield County Schools. Adams worked at Elizabeth Davis Middle School, while Troshak worked at the Chesterfield Early Childhood Learning Academy.
Police have not yet said whether or not the children involved in the arrest were local students.
Cheterfield Superintendent Dr. John Murray said he directed both teachers be immediately terminated with appropriate due process and asked for a joint investigation with Chesterfield police and Child Protective Services.
Now a third police investigation has begun in Petersburg, where Adams lived.
"If they recognize the teacher involved and suspect he might be involved in any activity here in the city, please contact us," said Petersburg Police Deputy Chief Emanuel Chambliss.
Collins said witnesses are key to prosecuting these cases and acknowledged that witnesses and victims are not always interested in coming forward.
"Even if you don't want to come forward in court, we still need to hear your story, so we can make sure that this doesn't happened again to other people," Collins said. "We've done initial meeting with parents without the children present, so we can go over the facts of what we've heard, what we know and then they can make a more informed decisions if they want to actually keep going forward with the charges."
Adams appeared in juvenile court Monday and told the judge he had hired an attorney. Collins said he expects Adams' charges to go to the grand jury in January and his trial in the first quarter of 2026.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
π²: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
