(11/30/07 – Initial BBT Report)

Matthew Gale, 28, a former special education teacher at West Prairie High School in Sciota, Illinois charged with six counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and four counts of criminal sexual assault has pleaded guilty to one count of criminal sexual abuse. All other charges were dropped.

Gale was accused of having a sexual relationship between January and March of 2006 with a 16-year-old female student whom he counseled after school.

Gale came to the attention of authorities via a call by another teacher to an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services hotline.

Sentencing for Gale is set for February 8th.

According to an agreement with prosecutors, Gail who is currently a resident of Florida is to be sentenced to 180 days in the county jail, with 60 days to serve and the 120-day balance to be deferred, 30 months of probation and $1,100 in fines.

In addition Gale will be required to register as a sex offender and will be prohibited from being anywhere children younger than 18 congregate which includes schools.

2/29/08 – Sentencing

Matthew Gale has been sentenced to 180 days in jail.

He also must serve 30 days probation and pay $1,700 in fines and court costs.

Gale will be required to register as a sex offender, is prohibited from unsupervised contact with minors, prohibited from using the internet and will be required to submit to random drug testing.

Reference:

Former Sciota teacher sentenced to 180 days for sex abuse (2/29/08)

Ex-teacher pleads to sex abuse (11/30/07)

11/01/07 – Initial BBT Report)

Harry Heintz, 29, a former world history teacher and assistant football coach at Whitewater High School, in Fayetteville, Georgia has been arrested for felony sexual exploitation of a minor.

Allegedly Heintz sent a text message to a female student asking her to send him a nude picture of herself.

He came to the attention of authorities when the girl’s mother called police. It is alleged that police found the girl’s cell phone number during a search of Heintz’s property.

Reportedly Heintz who resigned from the school “for personal reasons” on Tuesday is married to a teacher at Booth Middle School and formerly served in the Army in Iraq.

2/28/08 – Charges Dropped

A felony charge of sexual exploitation of a minor against Harry Heintz has been dropped.

Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard indicated that while some of the statements Heintz made in text messages to a student may have been inappropriate, they were not illegal.

References:

Sex charges are dropped against former teacher, coach (2/28/08)

Coach arrested after texting student for nude photo (11/01/07)

Local Coach Arrested On Sex Charge (11/01/07)

William “Bill” Catterson, 61, a former director of audiovisual services at The Hockaday School, an elite all-girls academy in Dallas, Texas, has been arrested on allegations of soliciting sex from a minor over the internet.

Catterson who was reportedly under investigation by the FBI as well as Dallas and Houston police has been charged with two counts of felony online solicitation of a minor.

Catterson was arrested as the result of an internet sting in which he allegedly was having sexual conversations with a person he thought was a 13-year-old in Houston. In reality the “teen” was an undercover agent.

Reportedly Catterson was chatting online with a sheriff’s deputy posing as a 13-year-old when Dallas police entered his office at the school.

A spokesman for the Harris County District Attorney’s office said they moved a lot faster against Catterson than they normally might when they discovered that he was a school teacher with access to kids.

Catterson who is free on $40,000 bond has been terminated by the school.

Reference:

Hockaday School employee charged with attempting to solicit a minor online

Dallas School Employee Caught In Online Sex Sting (2/28/08)