Obion County, TN teacher fired due to sexual proposition towards 18 year old student

The Obion County School Board voted unanimously to fire a 24 year veteran teacher for hitting on an 18 year old student during a school sponsored trip after a 4 hour hearing Thursday night.

The incident involving the student S.C. stemmed from a convention of the Future Farmers Of America (FFA) which took place in Gatlinburg, TN. The student went out with others to eat, then was called into South Fulton High School agriculture teacher Bryant Driver's hotel room. S.C. thought that she was going to be reprimanded for smoking and brought an adult female chaperone with her. After the chaperone left, Driver, 46, instructed her to close the door and started to take about his marriage and other subjects, eventually hitting on S.C.

S.C., scared, pretended to recieve texts so she could leave the situation, and contacted her mother. The mother contacted school officials, who then confronted Driver. Driver admitted during the hearing that he began to see S.C. as a "young lady" instead of a student, but denied the sexual banter. He admitted that he tole the victim that he thought a lot about her, and “probably love[d] her, if you want to know the truth.”

The insubordination charge was the result of an incident in which Driver, while on suspension status, allegedly came to a school-sponsored Vocational Advisory Committee meeting the evening of April 2 and initially refused to leave, according to the charge letters recently presented to the board by Obion County Director of Schools David Huss, who recommended Driver be dismissed.

Driver, who had been on suspension status since April 2, had requested Thursday night’s hearing as part of the due process afforded him. He was represented by Virginia A. McCoy, an attorney with the Tennessee Education Association, while school administration was represented by attorney John Miles of Union City.

In Tennessee, teacher student sex is punishable by prison time only when the student is under 18. States such as TX, WA, OH, and NC criminally prohibit teacher/student sex at any age.

Sheriff's deputy dismissed for sex with 17 year old girl - no charges filed

A former sheriff’s deputy who had sexual contact with a girl while she turned 18 will not face criminal charges. Bryce Adams, who worked at Newton High School in Troy, OH, resigned after 15 years as a sheriff’s deputy on April 24.

Allegations were made to the sheriff's department in April by a former student, now 20 years old. Sheriff Charles Cox said Adams was accused of having a sexual relationship with the girl, then 17, in October 2005 on Newton school property.

The investigation was turned over to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office and Shelby County Prosecutor Ralph Bauer acted as special prosecutor.

Bauer said the girl had graduated from Newton High School and was 17 at the time of what he termed "the first occasion." She was 18 on the second occasion, Bauer wrote.

Bauer found that the relationship was "inappropriate, but does not rise to the level of criminal activity under any of the sections of the Ohio Revised Code."

Adams’ lawyer Jose Lopes stated that while unaware of the findings, "Bryce has paid a very steep penalty for his indiscretion."

He also stated a rhetorical question about his clients behavior. "Is it inappropriate? Does it violate the sheriff's office policies and procedures? Yes. That's why it cost him his job."

Ohio’s AOC is 16, and teachers who go with their students (or for that matter, any student in the same school as they work in) can be charged with sexual battery, even when the victim is over 16 (or for that matter, 18). Here are 2 cases where teachers have been convicted for sex with over the AOC students. Perhaps laws covering school employees need to be expanded to cover school resource officers.