The five other members of the Smyth County School Board are asking Todd Stewart Williams to resign as he faces a federal charge of sexual exploitation, following an FBI investigation that accuses him of spending more than $10,000 buying nude images from at least six juveniles he met online.
“As members of the Smyth County School Board and as citizens of Smyth County, we were shocked and outraged when we learned Friday of the allegations of private, internet-based criminal activity against elected School Board member Todd Williams,” the board said in a statement released Monday evening by school Superintendent Dennis Carter.
“While the School Board recognizes the presumption of innocence in criminal prosecutions under our system of law, the alleged conduct makes it impossible and inappropriate for Mr. Williams to remain in the position of trust he holds as an elected School Board member.”
The statement goes on to say that the board has no legal authority to remove an elected board member, but its remaining members call on Williams to “do the right thing for our community and our school division and immediately resign from the Smyth County School Board.”
In Virginia, an elected official can only be removed by a circuit court for “neglect of a clear, ministerial duty of the office, misuse of the office, or incompetence in the performance of the duties of the office,” as well as for the conviction of certain crimes, like hate crimes or sexual battery. The removal petition must include the signatures of registered voters in the district equal to 10% of the votes cast at the last election for that position.
Williams, 53, of Chilhowie, is vice chair of the seven-member board, which currently has a vacant seat. His four-year term ends in December 2027.
He remained Monday at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Abingdon pending a Thursday preliminary hearing in federal court in Abingdon.
The charge against him was announced Friday in a news release by the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia. He is accused of enticing young boys to send him nude images and sexually explicit videos of themselves and others between May 2022 and January 2024.
The criminal complaint states that Williams is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of children. The federal government has 30 days to indict him on that charge or charges or dismiss the charges, according to Brian McGinn, public affairs specialist for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The school board statement was signed by Chair Susan Williams, who is not related to Todd Williams; Charles “Mac” Buchanan Jr.; Paul Grinstead; Willam “Gwyn” Combs; and Joseph Johnson.
