Texas Parents Force Schools to Drop Photo Vendor Over Shocking Epstein File Links

Texas Schools Cut Ties With Lifetouch Photo Company Over Epstein File Connections

At least seven East Texas school districts have announced plans to cancel or discontinue contracts with Lifetouch Photography after parents raised alarms over the company's connection to a figure named in the recently released Jeffrey Epstein files.

The controversy centers on Leon Black, the former CEO and chairman of Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm that acquired Lifetouch's parent company Shutterfly for $2.7 billion in September 2019, just one month after Epstein's death in custody.

Black was named in the latest Epstein document dump, in which a woman accused him of initiating sexual contact during a massage. He stepped down as Apollo CEO in March 2021. An independent board review found no evidence Black was involved in Epstein's criminal activities, though a Senate investigation revealed Black paid Epstein $158 million between 2012 and 2017 for financial advice.

The school districts that have taken action include Malakoff ISD, Cross Roads ISD, Van ISD, Winnsboro ISD, Edgewood ISD, Kemp ISD, and Athens ISD. Howe schools, located about 60 miles north of Dallas, as well as a charter school in Arizona, have also canceled.

Kemp ISD ended its partnership with Lifetouch and canceled all scheduled photography sessions. Van ISD discontinued its partnership entirely for the remainder of the school year, with all student photography to be handled in house by the district.

We are looking at all of our options for the 2026 to 2027 school year.

Katherine Smith, Communications Director for Malakoff ISD, stated the district received parent complaints about comfort levels and decided to keep photos in house for the rest of the year.

Schools Nationwide React to Epstein Linked Photo Vendor Controversy

Lifetouch Group CEO Ken Murphy responded firmly to the wave of cancellations.

Lifetouch is not named in the Epstein files. The documents contain no allegations that Lifetouch itself was involved in, or that student photos were used in, any illicit activities.

Murphy added that no Lifetouch executives have ever had any relationship or contact with Epstein, and the company has never shared student images with any third party, including Apollo. No evidence of Epstein or anyone in his orbit seeing Lifetouch photos has emerged from news organizations' review of thousands of documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice, though at least 1.7 million records remain to be reviewed.

Meanwhile, the American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of University Professors have asked the SEC to scrutinize Apollo's ties to Epstein, expanding the fallout beyond school photography into broader financial oversight.

The Crusader's Opinion

Parents are doing exactly what parents should do: putting their children first and asking hard questions. When your child's photos are handled by a company whose financial chain leads back to a man connected to the most notorious child predator in modern history, caution is not paranoia. It is duty. The fact that Lifetouch denies involvement is irrelevant to the deeper question: why does a convicted sex offender's financial network still touch institutions that serve our children? We should be tearing these networks out root and branch, not debating whether the connection is "direct enough." Protect the children first. Ask questions later.

Take Action

• Contact your local school board and ask which photography vendor they use and whether they have reviewed that vendor's corporate ownership chain.
• Call your school superintendent's office and request transparency on all third party vendors who collect student data or images.
• Support the American Federation of Teachers in calling for SEC oversight of Apollo Global Management's Epstein connections.
• Write to your state representative demanding legislation requiring schools to disclose corporate ownership of all student facing vendors.
• Donate to The Shepherd's Shield to support organizations fighting for the protection of children worldwide.
• Support National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to fund programs that protect children from exploitation.