CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — The Chester County Sheriff’s Office is investigating what parents say are allegations of inappropriate contact by a teacher at a South Carolina middle school.
The sheriff’s office said the allegations were so strong that they chose to step in.
According to the sheriff’s office report, the teacher is accused of “unwarranted touching.” In the report dated April 22, a school resource officer said he was called into the office by the principal to talk about an incident that may have taken place on school grounds.
No other information was provided in the report.
Parents told Channel 9′s Glenn Counts the situation has been boiling for a few weeks. They said they are highly critical of the Lewisville Middle School’s administration because they were not notified about the situation right away.
“Basically, parents are looking for transparency. They are looking for compassion,” parent Kristian Adams said.
Adams said her 13-year-old son, Shane, is a student at Lewisville Middle School. She said he was one of the students interviewed in regard to the allegation by school officials without her knowledge.
“They did not tell me anything about it. They did not ask permission,” Adams said.
Parents told Channel 9 that the allegations concern a teacher who had inappropriate contact with a student. The teacher is also accused of saying inappropriate things to others in front of several other students.
In a statement to Channel 9, the Chester County School District said the following:
“Chester County School District received information of a possible Title IX violation involving one of its employees. Upon learning of the allegations, the school involved immediately contacted the District’s Human Resources Department and law enforcement to initiate the investigation in accordance with the protocols listed under Title IX. All persons in direct connection to the investigation, including students and parents, have been notified.
“It was recently questioned by the school if rumors were circulating on social media against any of its staff members. No information on the allegations, or the fact that there was a formal investigation, was disclosed to any person outside of the investigation. This is a personnel matter which is being addressed per Chester County School Board policy.”
Adams said the school should have contacted the sheriff’s office early on.
“This should be concerning to everybody. I mean all parents,” Adams said. “They essentially acted like we didn’t have any rights or opinions as parents. Like the kids’ rights stopped or the parent’s rights stopped when those kids walked through that front door. And they were treated more like suspects than victims. That’s a problem.”
Parents told Channel 9 that the teacher has been placed on leave.
Channel 9 reached out to Lewisville Middle School to see if the teacher involved has been placed on leave, but has not heard back.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
(WATCH BELOW: CMS student who reported sexual assault forced to attend “Sexual Harassment is Preventable” class)
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