***READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED***
Posts about real school tragedy, crime, and/or events can be upsetting.
Does your teenage son or daughter text with a teacher? Are they friends on social media? If yes is your answer to either question… you need to keep reading.
BLOG POST #216: This week, I’m sharing research on a specific crime involving a middle school teacher.
He’d worked for the school district for 14-years. Most recently, he’d taught science at the middle school and coached cheerleading. Against school policy, he routinely texted with students about non-school related subjects.
His life took a sinful turn when he allowed two boys to skip PE and stay in science class to help set up for an experiment. One boy told the teacher kids from the cheerleading squad were sending around nude photos of themselves. The student showed the teacher a nude shot.
The teacher began on the right path and told the boy to get rid of the photo. Later, however, he texted and asked for the photo, he planned to confront the student in the image. Several boys sent the teacher more sexually explicit photos of kids from the school—all males between 13 and 14-years old.
He began chatting with nine boys about their genitalia through texting and privately on social media. Some sent videos of them… [you guessed it].
At no point did the teacher report the students’ behavior to the school administration or the boys’ parents. In fact, the teacher became more assertive, asking for more photos and videos and asked if one boy wanted to join him in a sexual act.
When the boy stopped communicating with the teacher, he showed up at his place of employment. The boy’s parents filed two complaints with the sheriff’s office. Meanwhile, he continued to teach. The school district worked with law enforcement through the investigation but didn’t place the teacher on administrative leave until charges were filed.
The teacher chose to go to trial. His defense was that he was gathering evidence to present to the school administration and student’s parents.
Yes, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. But, if his defense were true, I would have questioned why he had a framed photo of the boy he sought on his bedside table.
His jury reached a verdict in 10 minutes—guilty of possessing child pornography.
The judge sentenced the ex-teacher to 10 years in federal prison.
I believe teachers and students shouldn’t fraternize or communicate via social media. Period. Here’s a similar case you may have missed: Teachers Partying With Students
What are your thoughts about this case? Join the conversation on the website. We talk about the sensitive subject of crimes occurring at or connected to schools.
Do you know of a school crime you’d like to share? Email me so we can discuss the details.
Thanks for reading!
-Robin
Source: Court documents—USA v., FOX 10 news, CBS News 5 WKRG, AL.Abama Media Group
If you’re curious about how law enforcement functions, then you should sign up for a citizen’s academy. And if you’re an author who writes scenes containing any police procedures, you also should sign up for a citizen’s academy.
If you have children in high school, this criminal case will be of interest to you.
BLOG POST #211: This week, I’m sharing research on a specific crime involving a school district chief financial officer.
If you have a daughter in middle school, this post will be of particular interest to you.