Ex-athletic trainer at Watauga HS indicted on child pornography charges

STATESVILLE, N.C. — A federal prosecutor says a grand jury has filed a superseding indictment against a former athletic trainer intern who he says tried to entice young boys to send him sexually explicit images.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray said in a news release on Monday that the 21-count indictment was returned against 23-year-old Frank Darrell Cromwell of Boone. Officials say Cromwell met some of the victims through his Appalachian State University internship as an athletic trainer at Watauga High School.

Prosecutors say Cromwell used a cell phone app and other means to entice victims to produce and send him sexually explicit images and videos. He's also accused of using female names and images to convince the minors to produce and send him child pornography and to engage in sexual activity.