State Senator Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis) wants to know why Missouri Governor Mike Parson is so intent on appointing to the State Board of Education someone who testified as a character witness on behalf of a man who admitted to downloading 174,000 images and 4,800 videos of child pornography.
Nasheed led the effort in the Missouri Senate to block the appointment of Peter Herschend from moving forward, forcing the governor to withdraw Herschend’s name from consideration. However, days after the Senate adjourned, Parson re-appointed Herschend to the same post.
“Just like Greitens, Gov. Parson is using a legal loophole to manipulate the State Board of Education to the detriment of St. Louis schools,” Nasheed said. “I also have grave concerns about Mr. Herschend’s values and judgment after he stepped forward as a character witness for a convicted pedophile.”
In fact, William M. Walker did not confess to pedophilia but to downloading and viewing masses of child pornography. In August, the Springfield News-Leader reported that Herschend – co-founder and co-owner of Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation, which owns and operates Silver Dollar City in Branson – testified as a character witness for Walker.
“Herschend said he and Walker have been friends for 30 years,” the News-Leader reported. “Herschend told the judge that Walker has been changed since his arrest and now exudes qualities of the Boy Scout Law, like trustworthy, brave and reverent.”
Judge Doug Harpool sentenced Walker to 5 years in prison, plus 10 years of supervised release following incarceration, taking into account Walker’s age (75) and lack of criminal history, the News-Leader reported. Federal prosecutors recommended that Walker be sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Nasheed doesn’t think someone who testified on behalf of a confessed consumer of child pornography should be sitting in judgment on public schools that educate youth.
“Some of those children that man was looking at could have been children in our schools,” Nasheed told The American.
Herschend, who is in his 80s, spent 26 years on the State Board of Education, including two terms as its president, before then Gov. Eric Greitens removed him in July 2017.
“Children in my district struggle with poverty, hunger and crime on a daily basis,” Nasheed said. “To address these issues and many more, we need new leadership on the Board of Education.”
Herschend’s latest appointment will be up for Senate confirmation when the General Assembly reconvenes in January or if another special session is called by the governor during the interim. Nasheed will work against the confirmation.
“If that’s the kind of sick criminal Mr. Herschend thinks is a good person,” Nasheed said, “how can we trust who he’ll pick for education commissioner?”
Messages were left for Parson and Herschend, who were not immediately available for comment. Their responses will be added to this report when and of received.
