Ex-Ohio schools superintendent William Morrison charged with kidnapping

A former Ohio schools superintendent was arrested in West Virginia for allegedly luring two children in his car, police said.

William J. Morrison III, 59, of Huntington, was charged with two felony counts of kidnapping, according to the Huntington Police Department.

The ex-school chief allegedly approached a 9-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl in his vehicle on Aug. 17 and offered each of them $20 to babysit his 4-year-old daughter, according to a criminal complaint.

The children hopped into the car and Morrison drove off, stopping at one point and asking the 9-year-old to get out of the vehicle to check the tires. When the boy got out, Morrison drove away with the 12-year-old girl still inside, the complaint said.

When the girl started sobbing, Morrison upped his offer to $100, cops said.

The girl was eventually able to open the passenger door and flee a few blocks later.

Neither of the children was injured.

Police executed two search warrants at Morrison’s residence in Huntington where he was arrested and at another apartment in nearby Barboursville. He is currently being held without bond at the Western Regional Jail.

Morrison was fired as superintendent of the Hamilton Local School District — just south of Columbus, Ohio — in 2017 when he plead guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge after police found crack cocaine in his car.

With Post Wires