Cops and Courts

East Fairmont High School choir director jailed on child pornography charge

FAIRMONT - Michael Joseph Carpenter, the East Fairmont High School choir director charged with possessing child pornography, remained lodged in North Central Regional Jail on Wednesday following his arrest the day before.

West Virginia State Police arrived at the school on Airport Road on Tuesday morning to take the 43-year-old music educator into custody.

Carpenter appeared that same morning before Marion County Magistrate Brian Shuck on one count of possessing sexually explicit material containing a minor - which is a felony charge.

Bond was set for $500,000.

According to court records, the original complaint dated back to July.

Marion Schools Superintendent Donna Heston said Tuesday in a statement that the district is fully cooperating with the investigation.

"The safety and well-being of our students remain a priority," she said. "To protect the integrity of the investigation, Marion County Schools cannot provide any additional details at this time."

Carpenter was still listed as a faculty member on the school's website as of Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, the investigation has been turned over to the State Police's Crimes Against Children Unit, in Morgantown.

Inquiries from The Dominion Post were referred to the law agency's headquarters in Charleston.

Carpenter told this newspaper in a previous story looking at the elimination of arts education programs in West Virginia that he was out of work here in the early 2000s - after his job in the medical field went the same way.

His old choir director from his alma mater of Fairmont Senior High School encouraged him to go back to college and earn a music degree.

The newly minted choir and band director wound up teaching at a Navajo middle school and high school in Arizona before his return home.

Carpenter two years ago was recognized by Fairmont Arts and Humanities Commission - and the Governor's Honors Academy over the summer presented him with its "Outstanding Educator" award for his work at the 2026 gathering.