A Chronicle of teachers behaving badly, teacher sex scandals, and other indiscretions

Kevin Wilson

Kevin Wilson, 49 year old computer science teacher at Bothwell Middle School in Marquette, Michigan has pleaded guilty to sexual assault with intent to commit penetration, and will be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on March 28th.

Wilson was originally arrested in October of 2008 on two counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct. Reportedly, Wilson admitted to having sexual relations with numerous female students between 1988 and 1996.

Wilson, who worked for the school for 20 years and also worked for other Marquette area schools, was originally held on a $200,000 bond. Wilson is expected to be sentenced to 3-10 years in prison, per the State of Michigan’s recommendation.

Andrew Sewell

Andrew Sewell, principal at Dothan High School, in Dothan, Alabama has been arrested on a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the deliquency of a mionor.

It is alleged that Sewell had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a female student, who was under 15 years old at the time.

Sewell was initially held in the Houston County Jail on a $6,000 bond. Sewell could face a maximum of 1 year in jail if convicted. He has been placed on paid administrative leave from the school system.

25 year old Crystal Shipman, a former teacher at Concord High School in Concord, Arkansas has been arrested on charges of first degree sexual assault and contributing to the deliquency of a minor.

It is alleged that Shipman had sex with a 17 year old male student, and gave drugs to another 18 year old male student. Shipman is reportedly married with 3 children.

Police are seeking a warrant for Shipman’s arrest, and it is reportded that Shipman has admitted to both having a sexual relationship with the student as well as giving drugs to the other.

34 year old James Jamison, a former gym teacher at St. Boniface Elementary in Kersey, Pennsylvania has been arrested and charged with over two dozen charges, most of them sex charges.

James Jamison

It is alleged that Jamison sexually assaulted an 11 year old boy over a period of a few years, forcing the boy to have sex with him in the school library and bathroom. Allegedly in May 2008, Jamison used a knife to threaten the boy, which is the last known occurrance of the sexual assault.

The boy says that Jamison fondled him at least 15-20 times while he was in first and second grade. Jamison taught at the school for 10 years before leaving to work at another school in York, PA, where he was employed when the investigation started but no longer works there.

Investigators believe there could be multiple victims who have yet to come forward and are asking anybody with information to contact the District Attorney’s office at (570) 327-2456, or to go through the school system.

Cynthia Horvath

45 year old Cynthia Horvath, a former English teacher and cheer coach at Warner Christian Academy in South Daytona, Florida has been sentenced to one yerar of house arrest and 7 years of probation on her charges of having sexual relations with a 17 year old male student.

Horvath was originally arrested after rumors surfaced at the school about her relationship with a 17 year old male student. It is not clear whether the police investigation started due to faculty reports or student reports, but the boys parents were notified and soon afterwards police were notified as well.

The boy admitted to having sex with Horvath after being questioned, and it is believed that the two had multiple sexual encounters during the course of 4 months, in multiple locations and cities.

Horvath reportedly resigned after school administrators confronted her about the allagations. During the trial, Horvath tried to play the mental imbalance card, reportedly telling the prosecution that she “may not have known what she was doing was wrong because she was suffering from ’severe hormone imbalances,’”, along with other mental conditions.

After all that nonsense was said and done, Horvath realized she could not beat the system with a blatant lie and pleaded no contest to her charges. She was sentenced to 1 year of community control, which is the state of Florida’s version of house arrest, and 7 years of probation. She is also required to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life, and may not be near minors other than her own 4 children.

Horvath is also not allowed to operate a motor vehicle by herself, for an unspecified period of time,  and she must surrender her teaching license.

Angie Fetty

Angie Fetty, 34 year old english teacher at Oil City High School in Oil City, Pennsylvania has been charged with endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors and possession of drug paraphernalia.

It is alleged that Fetty had an ongoing sexual relationship with a 16 year old female student. Fetty was arrested after her own 13 year old daughter reported seeing Fetty and the 16 year old kissing, sleeping (literally, presumably) together,  hugging, and saying “I love you” to each other.

Investigators had a surveillance team watching Fetty to confirm the allegations, and what they saw did in fact corroborate with what witnesses saw. The surveillance team saw Fetty and the girl leaving Fetty’s home to take the girl home, where the girl would get on her normal school bus. The team also saw Fetty and the girl kissing each other for prolonged periods of time in Fetty’s car.

After police interrogated Fetty, she admitted to the relationship with the 15 year old girl, noting that it first began in August of 2008. After hearing that information, police obtained and executed a search warrant on Fetty’s home, where they found marijuana paraphanalia, as well as letters that describe a sexual relationship between Fetty and the alleged victim.

Fetty has been freed on a $10,000 bond and has reportedly been suspended by the school system. Fetty is due back in court on March 4th, 2009.

Michael Minnick

Michael Minnick, 31 year old gym teacher and coach at St. Anne’s Catholic School, Virginia High School and Virginia Middle School in Bristol, Virginia has been arrested and charged with ten counts of use of communication systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children. It is unclear at this time what crime Minnick actually committed, but it can be speculated that it had something to do with text messaging or social networking sites, however those are simply opinions. The police are not commenting on specifics of the case because the investigation is ongoing.

Minnick resigned from Virginia High School, where he was the girls’ assistant basketball coach. Minnick is reportedly the physical education instructor at St Annes Catholic school, where he has been placed on administrative leave. Minnick’s resignation from Virginia High School came just 3 days before the investigation into his alleged crimes came about.

Minnick is being held in the county jail without bond, and is scheduled to be in court March 16th, 2009.

67 year old Warren Brown, a Music teacher at Kent Place School in Summit, New Jersey has been arrested and charged with one count of first degree aggravated sexual assault and one count of second degree sexual assault.

It is allaged that Brown met a 15 year old female student in September of 2007 and began a friendly relationship, and a year later in September 2008 their relationship became that of a sexual nature.

Brown was arrested and charged after the girls parents became aware of the relationship and contacted the police. Brown is currently being held in the Union County Jail on a $275,000 bond.

Richard Noles

Richard Noles, the 22 year old former alternative education teacher and track coach at Nelson County High School in Lovingston, Virginia has been arrested on a count of computer solicitation of a juvenile.

The alleged victim, who is older than 15 but under 18, is said to have been solicited online for sex by Noles. The victims father is the one who reported the incident to the officials. Noles is not alone, in September of 2007, another teacher at Nelson County High School, Tim Bennett, a librarian and also a track and field coach, was arrested and convicted of soliciting sex online from what he believed to be a 13 year old girl, which turned out to be a police officer.

Noles resigned from the school on February 23rd, 2009, and was arrested the day after. Noles was released on a $2,500 bond. He is expected to be back in court March 12, 2009.

Kenneth Johnson

60 year old Kenneth Johnson, a former social studies teacher at Antioch Upper Grade School in Antioch, Illinois has been indicted and remains jailed on 12 counts of possession of child pornography after a tip from the FBI.

Investigators say that they found thousands of images and hundreds of videos on DVD, as well as numerous materials in print depicting children as young as 2 years old engaged in sexual acts during a search of Johnsons home.

Johnson has also confessed that between 1974 and now he has sexually abused as many as 75 boys in Illinois and Washington. Many of the boys who Johnson has confessed to molesting tell police that it is not true. Investigators are still trying to piece together the evidence to find out if Johnson’s confession is truthful or not.

Johnson has taught at the school since 1989, and resigned in February 2009. Johnson has pleaded not guilty and is being held on a $500,000 bond.