Bad Bad Teacher

(03/17/09 – Initial BadBadTeacher.com Report)

Matthew Judd Collins, 26, a 5th and 6th grade physical education teacher at Rustburg Middle School in Rustburg, Virginia has been charged with one count of taking indecent liberties with a child under the age of 15.

Reportedly Collins came to the attention of authorities by way of notification from a friend of the alleged victim’s family.

The Campbell County Sheriff’s Department has revealed little information regarding the alleged victim and even less regarding the alleged crime or crimes.

A Sheriff’s Department spokesperson did say that the alleged victim is not related to Collins, that the alleged incident(s) did not take place at school and that the investigation is focused on the period between January 1st and March 13th. The Sheriff’s spokesperson would not state whether the alleged victim is or is not a student at the school.

A school spokesperson has stated that Collins will “not be in the classroom”, but refused to further discuss his status with the school system.

Following his arrest, Collins was reportedly being held in the Campbell County Adult Detention Center

10/08/09 – Guilty Plea and Sentencing

Matthew Collins, who was scheduled for trial today, has under a plea deal with prosecutors pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent liberties with a child under 15. Reportedly the two victims were 13 and 14-year-old girls.

Under the plea deal, prosecutors dropped two additional charges of electronic solicitation that would have carried five-year mandatory minimum sentences.

Judge John Cook sentenced Collins to 10 years in prison on each charge, with all but a year suspended on each and with the two sentences to run consecutive.

Once released from prison, Collins must register as a sex offender.

He is also prohibited from having any contact with the victims, he may not coach, teach or counsel anyone under 18 and may not have contact with anyone under 18 unless the child is a family member.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 7:40 pm and is filed under Hall of Shame, Health/Gym/PE, ME-FV, Middle Schools, Virginia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.