PETAL, Miss. (WHLT) – A former Petal teacher, who received a $25,000 Milken Educator Award in 2022, pled guilty to new sex crime charges.
During a court appearance on July 23, 2025, Tyler Shows pled not guilty to six charges. His bond was set at $90,000 on three new child exploitation charges.
The court determined that Shows is considered a flight risk due to the search history on his phone. He was ordered to wear an ankle monitor and have no contact with minors or the alleged victims.
Petal police arrested Shows on July 22, 2025. He was charged with child exploitation, two counts of touching a child for lustful purposes and dissemination of sexually oriented material to a minor.
According to the new indictment, Shows was in possession of pictures or videos that showed children engaged in sexual acts as of April 16, 2024. The new charges stem from the new evidence found during a Petal police investigation.
Shows was out on a $125,000 bond on previous charges. In May 2024, Shows was arrested on sex crimes charges. Petal police said they received a report in February 2024 from the Petal School District. In the course of an internal investigation for misconduct, Petal School District officials said they discovered several instances of criminal conduct had occurred between a teacher and several minors.
Petal police said Shows had been engaged in several questionable activities that involved at least a dozen minor students. Investigators said they executed several search warrants.
On May 2, 2024, Petal police served Shows with three warrants for his arrest. He was charged with distribution of sexual materials to a minor and two counts of touching a child for lustful purposes.
Police said victim statements also suggest that Shows gave alcohol and vapes to the children.
When Shows received the Milken Educator Award two years ago, he was a fifth-grade math teacher Petal Upper Elementary School. He was place on administrative leave and later resigned.
Shows’ trial was set for November 10, 2025, but he could accept a plea deal. If convicted, Shows could face up to 151 years in prison.