In Knoxville, Tennessee, English teacher and football coach Stephen Pebley. He was arrested in the largest meth lab bust in Claiborne County history. He was one of four people arrested]ted. All face a manufacturing of meth charge.
Police said that they caught the suspects cooking meth, and finished product was sitting on top of the stove. A total of seven grams of meth was confiscated.
Joshua J. Schwartz, 30, a language arts teacher at St. Ambrose Catholic school in Tuscon, Arizona, was arrested in connection with a marijuana growing operation. Schwartz taught sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders.
His arrest is a result of an incident when when police searched a house in response to a report of a burglary in progress. Neighbors reported seeing a bunch of kids entering and exiting through the back of the home, and said they were carrying large trash bags filled with unknown items. (Hmmmmm…drug runners?)
Just say no, Mr. Leonard!
Assistant principal, Leonard Marsh, 50, was arrested along with his wife Jinny S. Marsh, 56, on charges of growing pot with intent to sell. He was formally charged with manufacturing marijuana and his wife was charged with possession for the weed growing operation in their home in Virginia.
They were growing it in their closet according to police. Packaged marijuana was also found in the home they share with their teenage daughter.
In North Carolina, second grade teacher Amy Snead, 36, was one of six people arrested in “Operation Pill Crusher” a countywide sting agaist methamphetamine production.
Snead is a teacher at Polenta Elementary School and is now suspended. She had worked in the school district for 14 years - judging from her age, from the time she left college.
First grade teacher Sharon Duerring, 49, was removed from her classroom when someone reported to school officials that she was acting intoxicated. Duerring taught at Cooks Corners Elementary in Valparaiso, Indiana.
The reports don’t say if it was a teacher, student or parent that told them that Duerring was drunk. Let’s hope it wasn’t the kids, then again I’m not sure most kids that age would know she was drunk - maybe just “acting funny.”
In Billings, Montana, special education teacher and reading specialist Koby Gayle Murray, 41, was charged with a felony for trying to illegally obtain prescription pain medication. Murray, who is on paid leave from her job at West High School, faces a maximum penalty of one to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
According to police, Murray is called a Billings pharmacy to fill a prescription for the pain medication hydrocodone (also known as Vicodin). Pharmacy staff believed the prescription was fake and called police. The police then arrested Murray when she arrived at the pharmacy.
Between this story and yesterday’s, I’m just saddened to hear about teacher’s problems with drugs and alcohol. These are not bad people or bad teachers. Instead, these are people with addiction problems who need treatment, not jail time.
How very sad.
Koby Gayle Murray, illegally obtaining prescription pain medication
In Omaha, Nebraska, head varsity softball coach Jodi Reeder, 29, is facing felony charges for her fourth drunken-driving arrest. Reeder was stopped by police because she was driving the wrong way on a one-way street in downtown Omaha. Her blood alcohol level was 0.189 percent, more than twice the legal limit for drunken driving.
Reeder is a PE teacher at Omaha’s Central High School. She has not been at work since her arrest.
According to court records, Reeder’s was arrested twice in 2003 and once in 1998 for DUI. She was charged with a misdemeanor in all three cases. However, now that Reeder has a fourth DUI, she may be charged with a felony. A person with a felony conviction can’t hold a teaching license in Nebraska.
She’s free on $15,000 bond. If convicted, Reeder could serve one to 20 years in jail and pay up to a $25,000 fine.
In Omaha, Nebraska, Florence Elementary third-grade teacher Krista Crosby, 34, was arrested and will be fired for bringing heroin, marijuana and drug paraphernalia to school.
A paraprofessional that worked with Crosby found the bag of narcotics and brought it to school officials who contacted police. She was then arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance-heroin, possession of marijuana less than an ounce, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Update: Back in February, the former principal of Nitschmann Middle School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, John Acerra, 50, was arrested by police in his school office. Police found a bag of meth and drug paraphernalia on his desk. But even more shocking was that Acerra was naked, watching gay porn and also had sex toys on his desk.
Acerra pleaded guilty to multiple drug offenses for selling crystal methamphetamine from his school office. There was no indication that Acerra sold the drug to students. In a search of his home, police found 23 glass pipes containing drugs. They also found two pencil torches and numerous bags containing meth.
Police also a computer belonging to the Bethlehem School District. Great. This guy not only sold drugs but stole from school, too.
John Acerra, drug charges, naked in office, sex toys and drug paraphernalia
Johnson has a new attorney, so she was granted more time and another conference before the preliminary hearing. It’s postponed until next month.
In June, Johnson pleaded not to a felony charge of unlawful sex with a 17-year-old, and to two misdemeanor charges of providing minors with alcohol. The defense and prosecuting attorneys haven’t worked out a settlement yet. Even so, no one is sure if the case will go to trail.
Stay tuned.
Christine Johnson, Squaw Valley teacher, unlawful sex with a minor, providing minors with alcohol, student-teacher affair
Fallon faces misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and use/possession of drug paraphernalia. Fallon was arrested after managers of a Hampton Inn called police to evict people who were partying in one of the rooms. After a search, police found marijuana and narcotics on Fallon.
The Connecticut Board of Education restored Orlando Hernandez, 37, teaching license even though he’s a convicted drug dealer. Hernandez was a math teacher at Fair Haven Middle School when he was arrested for selling cocaine to a woman at a bar who turned out to be an undercover police officer.
His teaching certificate was automatically revoked when he was convicted in 2004. Although his lawyers considered mounting an entrapment defense, Hernandez pleaded no contest was given a suspended sentence. Hernandez was never jailed and he completed his sentence after 18 months of probation.
In Nevada, Christine Cameron Johnson, 28, was arrested on suspicion of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Johnson, a teacher at Squaw Valley Academy, was engaged in a sexual relationship with an underage male student and provided alcohol to him. She taught history and SAT classes at the private boarding school.
Toward the end of the school year, rumors had spread about Johnson’s innapropriate relationship with one particular student. However, most of the students didn’t know that Johnson was arrested, since it happened after school let out.
The victim’s name is not being disclosed by the sheriff’s department because he the underage victim of a sex crime. Johnson has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was ordered not to be in contact with the victim.
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Christine Cameron Johnson, Squaw Valley Academy, sexual abuse, unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor
You thought abusive teachers were only in this U.S.? You can find them all over the world, like this shocking case in Brisbane, Austrailia. Seems that high school teacher Amanda Louise Thompson abused one of her female students over a two-year period and will soon be standing trial. Thompson, 26, is charged with 229 counts of indecently dealing with a child under 16 who was in her care.
Police say Thompson first assaulted the girl in 2003 when she was 13, and continued the abuse until she was 15. Witnesses saw Thompson hugging, kissing, fondling and having oral sex (!) with the girl. They also saw her plying the student with booze.
Thompson’s husband was concerned about his wife’s relationship with the girl when he found them lying together in a closed room or under a blanket. Also, Thompson repeatedly slept in the same bed as the girl at her Thompson’s home and the student’s family home.
Please tell me why her husband or the girl’s parents thought it was o.k. that they share a bed?
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[tags]sexual abuse, child abuse, Australian teacher, Amanda Louise Thompson, Brisbane, Austrailia[tags]
Boy is this causing a lot of flap out here in Colorado. The Conifer High School Yearbook contains pictures depicted drug and alcohol use.
There are two pages under the heading “Health - addicted to addictions” containing photos and text about alcohol, cigarettes and prescription drugs, along with photos of students smoking pot and using a bong. Another page shows police officers “busting our parties” and refers to law enforcement as “a necessary evil.” Under “Regrets and Mistakes,” three girls are shown holding up a citation for minor in possession of alcohol.
Parents are pissed. Families offended by photos and text can get their money back or have their copies treated. If it was me, I’d clip and print out stories about the incident, put it in a manilla envelope, and tape it to the yearbook. That way my student can look back and see teachers, like advisor Amy McTague, do really dumb things.
Thank goodness for teachers. Most are passionate, hard working, and decent. For many of us, it’s a teacher who got us where we are today. But that’s not what this blog is about. Instead, Teacher Smackdown identifies the molesters, thieves, and lecherous adults masquerading as teachers in our society. It also gives parents resources and information on protecting our kids and identifying these monsters.
Teacher Smackdown – putting the spotlight on bad teachers betraying the public trust one kid at a time. These are their stories.
Teacher Smackdown Author(s)
Baby Gear
Foster Parents Online
Mom Is Teaching
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Nursing Your Kids
Parenting and Religion
Parenting Extremis
Parenting Our Children
Parenting Sites 411
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Parenting The Adopted
Parenting Toddlers
Parenting Under the Stars
Reviewing Toys
Single Parenting
Step-family Talk
Sympathy Pain
Teacher Smackdown
The Attached Mother
Update: 
In Kentucky,