Archive for July, 2008
(07/31/08 – Initial BBT Report)
Aaron J. Stewart, 28, scheduled to begin teaching at Clearwater Intermediate School in Clearwater, Florida has been arrested and charged with one count of promoting the sexual perfomance of a child, and eight counts of possession of child pornography.
Investigators allege that they discovered Stewart online when they noticed he was trading files of what they said was child pornography. It is further alleged that investigators traced the files back to his computer at home and executed a search warrant there Thursday.
Allegedly Stewart’s computer was found to contain child pornography which showed adults having sex with children.
Stewart faces 55 years in prison if convicted on all the charges.
Reportedly Stewart is the first arrest by the attorney general’s CyberCrime Task Force, a partnership of local, state and federal authorities .
Stewart will reportedly be placed on paid administrative leave by the school system pending the outcome of its investigation.
Following his arrest Stewart was being held in the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $180,000 bail
References:
Pinellas teacher accused of swapping child porn (07/31/08)
Pinellas Teacher Arrested On Child Porn Charges (07/31/08)
William Samuel Paxton, 42, a former music instructor and color-guard coach at five Jefferson County, Colorado schools has been arrested on allegations that he sexually assaulted female students.
Paxton, who taught at Arvada High School in 1995-1996, at Alameda High School in 2006-2007 and advised, volunteered or consulted at D’Evelyn, Jefferson and Lakewood high schools was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust.
Reportedly investigators say that they became aware of the assaults and began looking into Paxton’s time at the five schools and believe that there may be more victims. Anyone with more information is urged to contact the tip line at 303-271-5612.
05/30/08 – Guilty Plea
Reportedly William Paxton has pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of a 17-year-old female student.
Paxton who faces up to 12 years in prison when he is sentenced in July will also serve 10 years to life of intensive supervision as a sex offender.
07/31/08 – Sentencing
William Paxton has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Following the completion of his prison sentence Paxton will be on probation from 10 years to life and under intensive supervision for sex offenders.
References:
Ex-band teacher gets 12 years in prison (07/31/08)
Former Music Teacher Sentenced In Sex Abuse Case (07/31/08)
Music teacher pleads guilty to sexually assaulting student (05/30/08)
Jeffco teacher held on suspicion of sex assault (10/23/07)
Investigators: Man who worked at 5 different schools sexually assaulted girls (10/23/07)
Music Teacher From 5 High Schools Accused In Sex Assault (10/23/07)
(08/01/08 – Initial BBT Report)
Ronald Norris, 57, of Derby, New York, a former English teacher at Frontier High School has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison, 5 years supervised release, and a fine of $24,000 as a result of his guilty plea to a felony charge of knowing possession of child pornography on January 4, 2008.
Norris’ arrest was the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, (ICE).
As part of the plea deal, Norris agreed to surrender his New York state teaching and administrator certificates to the New
York State Department of Education.
References:
U.S. Attorney Western District of New York Press Release (07/30/08)
Former teacher sentenced in Web child porn case (07/31/08)
New York School Teacher Arrested on Kiddie Porn Charge (12/02/06)
(07/31/08 – Initial BBT Report)
Ralph Waye, 42, a math teacher at Colleton County High School in Walterboro, South Carolina has been arrested and faces sex charges after a complaint by 14-year-old girl.
Waye has been charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor and lewd act with a minor.
The alleged victim, who attends a different school, told her school nurse that Waye had assaulted her. The girl’s school notified its resource officer of the alleged assault.
Following his arrest Waye was reportedly released on bond totaling $40,000.
References:
Colleton School Employee Turns Himself In on Charges of Sexual Misconduct (07/31/08)
Local Teacher Faces Sex Charges (07/31/08)
(5/17/07 – Initial BBT Report)
Heather Lee Thorsby, a 34-year-old art teacher for the past three years at Independence High School in Franklin, Tennessee has been arrested for sexual battery by an authority figure.
Thorsby is alleged to have carried on a sexual relationship with a then 17-year-old female student.
Thorsby allegedly confessed the sexual affair to both school administrators and authorities telling them that the relationship began in December as a friendship but later turned sexual.
Allegedly the two had sexual contact at both Thorsby’s home and at the school.
Thorsby was released on $10,000 bail after having spent one night in jail. As conditions of bail, she must remain with her parents, who live in Franklin, and is not to leave the state.
11/13/07 – Heather Thorsby Indicted
Heather Thorsby has been indicted by a Williamson County grand jury on three counts of statutory rape by an authority figure, two counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and two counts of exploitation of a minor by electronic means.
Thorsby is alleged to have had sexual contact with a female student at various times at her school and home between Nov. 11, 2006 and March 30, 2007.
Thorsby remains free on $10,000 bail.
07/31/08 – Guilty Plea and Sentencing
Heather Thorsby has pleaded guilty to three counts of statutory rape by an authority figure and 2 counts of sexual battery by an authority figure.
Thorsby was sentenced to three years in prison.
She was ordered to report to prison to begin serving her sentence on August 20th.
Thorsby is required to register as a sex offender.
References:
Teacher sentenced to three years in prison for sexual relationship with student (07/31/08)
Plea bargain in sex case sends Tennessee art teacher to jail (07/31/08)
Plea bargain sends teacher to jail for 3 years (07/31/08)
Teacher indicted on student sex charges (11/13/07)
Franklin Teacher Accused Of Having Sex With Student
Teacher in sex case has bond hearing today
Arrested teacher released from jail after posting bail
(07/31/08 – Initial BBT Report)
Herbert “Herb” Allen, 64, a custodian at the Model Creek School, in Peeples Valley, Arizona, has been arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with sexual motivation involving a 13-year-old female student.
It is alleged that Allen asked the girl to meet him in a back room to talk. She complied and once inside the room with Allen, he gave her a hug and kissed her on the lips for several seconds. The incident made the victim feel very uncomfortable and she eventually told her mother who called police.
During the course of the investigation police say they discovered that Allen had given the victim “special” hugs in the past, would hold her hands, and look her over when they were in the same area of the school. It was further discovered that Allen had signed the victim’s yearbook with a nickname he coined just for her. The letters, “YSFL” were used and defined as “Young, Sexy, Foxy, Lady.”
References:
Custodian arrested on sex charge (07/30/08)