A Coffee County man has been arrested following an investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, into allegations of sexual exploitation of a minor.

On Sept. 25, TBI Agents, along with the office of the 14th Judicial District Attorney General, began an investigation of an account user who was sending child sexual abuse material via a website on the internet. During the course of the investigation, agents developed information that identified the user of the account as Daniel Gregory.

On Monday, with the assistance of deputies with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office and the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, agents arrested Daniel Odell Gregory (DOB 05/10/1975). He is charged with 11 counts of Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and was booked into the Coffee County Jail on a $950,000 bond.

According to the warrant from the Coffee County Courthouse, investigators obtained records through subpoenas that identified the IP address to which Gregory accessed a website to correspond and send images of “himself, his wife and a total count of 11 sexually explicit images of minors in sexual provocative poses and performing sexual acts.” Per the warrant, this activity took place from July 5 through 7.

“The investigator was able to confirm the identity is Mr. Gregory and that these activities occurred by Mr. Gregory accessing the website from his residence here in Coffee County,” the warrant read. “Each warrant represents a separate count for when each image was sent. Some images were repeated over the course of July 5-7, 2023.”

On Tues, Oct. 10, the Rutherford County Schools system released a statement regarding Gregory’s arrest and charges as he was a counselor at Siegel Middle School and lived in Coffee County. According Rutherford County Schools’ Chief Communications Officer James Evans, Gregory resigned his position upon learning of the charges.

“We know this information is concerning to parents and students, and we too are disturbed by the charges,” Evans said. “We are fully cooperating with law enforcement to assist with the investigation. Gregory’s hire date was Aug. 15, 2006. Any questions about the charges will need to be addressed to the TBI. We are sharing this same information with the media to ensure the facts are known.”