SENATOBIA, MS (abc24.com) - Tate County Sheriff's deputies and Senatobia police officers surrounded William Todd Brewer's home Thursday afternoon.
"We saw them take boxes in and we got a little nervous but we didn't know and they weren't letting anyone near the house," said neighbor Sherry Thompson.
A search warrant was executed after investigators received a tip.
According to Brad Lance, Tate County Sheriff, "We found evidence to charge Mr. Brewer with 1 count of child pornography." But, Lance added, "he's charged with 1 count but we fully anticipate him to be charged with additional counts."
Neighbors say investigators were there all through the night. Early Friday morning, Brewer was taken to the Tate County Jail and booked.
41-year-old Todd Brewer is the Northwest Mississippi Executive Director of the Chicasaw Council of the Boy Scouts, and oversees all of DeSoto County, including Southaven, Horn Lake, Olive Branch, Hernando and Tate, Tunica and Panola Counties.
"That's scary in itself. I mean who would've thought," said Thompson. "I've seen a lot of kids out there but you never - oh my gosh, and I got a little 8-year-old."
Dicky Flynn, an off-duty police officer, told abc24.com, "I can't stomach that and I deal with that stuff at my job and we have to learn to cope with it, we have to learn to deal with that kind of stuff but you can never accept it."
Other neighbors knew something was wrong. They said kids from the area, as well as boys scouts, would come to Brewer's home almost everyday, some as young as 8-years-old.
"I knew he was a sketchy character because of the kids, they would be on his front porch in the middle of the day smoking and you know that they're underage," said one neighbor.
Investigators have a warning for all parents.
Sheriff Lance stated, "Any parent, that their child might have been in contact with this individual, has concerns, needs to feel free to call us, contact us and relay their concerns and we'll check into it."
At the Boy Scouts Chickasaw Council office in Memphis, Brewer's arrest was a shock.
"I first heard the news because of your phone call this morning. That's the first time I heard of it and my reaction was shock and surprised," said Boy Scouts executive, Woody Woodward. "I've been in scouting for almost 32 years and in 32 years in 6 different states this is the first time I have ever experienced anything like this. It truly is a rare occurrence."
Woodward is the scout executive for 17 counties in the Mid-South; Brewer was hired to oversee scouts in 5 Mississippi counties.
"We have a very exhaustive hiring process. We do background checks, criminal background checks, things of that nature both with our professionals and our volunteers," said Woodward. "He met all the criteria and his background check came up without any red flags."
Brewer's job involved raising money, organizing programs, and of course working with boys. Woodward says Brewer never mistreated any boy scouts.
"I can assure people if we had any signs or any indication of anything that was inappropriate it would've been dealt with quickly and severally. We were not aware of that."
