Teacher Smackdown

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?)

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In Clewiston, Florida, teacher Jeffrey Scott Holsclaw, 49, was arrested for seeking sex from a person he thought was a 15-year-old girl. He faces charges of procuring prostitution of a minor, sex offenses on a victim between the ages of 12 to 15-years-old, and obscene communication on a computer to seduce or solicit a minor.

Via Craigslist, an undercover officer connected online with Holsclaw at 10:30 a.m. when Holsclaw was at work at Clewiston Middle School. The police report says that Holsclaw was looking for “GFE.” This is a code that mean a “girlfriend experience.” Holsclaw told the decoy he did not want to rush the session. He also wanted oral sex and agreed to pay $150, but then increased the amount to $250 so he would not have to wear a condom. (Geez, $100 more for a STD - no thanks!)

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UPDATE to Teacher Kelsey Peterson Caught in Mexico After Kidnapping 13-Year-Old Student

Kelsey Peterson, 25, the Nebraska middle school teacher who fled to Mexico with her 13-year-old student, Fernando Rodriguez, has agreed to be returned from California to Nebraska. She faces federal charges that she fled to Mexico for the purpose of having sex with the boy.

It is expected that Peterson will be sent back to Nebraska to face federal charges of crossing state lines to have sex with a minor. The offense is punishable by 10 years to life in prison. Peterson also faces several charges in state court including felony kidnapping and child abuse. Peterson will not be prosecuted in both federal and state court, but a decision on which court will handle the case has not yet been made. (I am hoping for federal court since she fled through several states into a foreign country.)

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Poor New Orleans is getting poorer. Sixth grade teacher Gabriel C. Hood, 28, was arrested on charges that he stole money from a student community service group, the Tchefuncte Middle School Builder’s Club. The club is cosponsored by the Kiwanis and gets middle school students to participate in community service projects to help other kids, seniors, the disabled, and the poor.

Hood is charged with taking over $1,100 from student dues and fundraisers and buying a $450 camera with the club’s money. It is tempting to call him Robin Hood, but that legendary figure gave to the poor and did not steal from them. Maybe we should call him “Robbing the ‘hood” instead.

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In South Carolina, Dwight Lawing, 39, was arrested for having inappropriate contact with a 15-year-old student. Lawing is the band teacher at Wallace Elementary/Middle School. He is formally charged with criminal sexual misconduct with a minor, and with dissemination of a harmful material to a minor. (I am guessing that the “harmful material” is either porn, alcohol, or drugs.)

During the past year, the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office had received several complaints about the teacher. However, they could not move forward with an investigation or arrest since they had no factual information. They finally proceeded after the 15-year-old victim contacted police about what happened to him/her. (The identity of the victim is being hidden because of his/her age, and I don’t want to assume it is a girl. Boys get molested, too.)

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Kelsey Peterson, a 25-year-old single mother and sixth grade math teacher and basketball coach at Lexington Middle School in Nebraska was having a sexual relationship with her former 13-year-old student. According to the boy’s family, the relationship began in 2006 when he was 12-years-old.

A police investigation found affectionate emails and love letters between the two on her school laptop computer. Now Peterson is now facing charges of kidnapping, child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor for kidnapping the boy after leaving Nebraska with him and taking the child to Mexico. If she is found guilty of the federal crime of taking a minor across state lines and over the U.S. border for the purpose of having sex with him, Peterson could get 10 years in prison.

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Here at Teacher Smackdown I’ve seen teachers fired for having sex at school with other teachers, molesting kids, and stealing. But I haven’t seen this much press attention for a teacher acting like an idiot.

In Illinois, Dave Warwak, 44, a teacher at Fox River Grove Middle School, was fired he had turned his classes into lectures on veganism and stopped teaching art.

He has filed an appeal with the Illinois State Board of Education, and said he would not return to the classroom unless the school served only lunches free of animal products. Well since that will never happen, I guess he doesn’t have a job, thank goodness.

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In Washington state, former middle school teacher teacher Vern E. Heizer, 50, was staking and violating a protection order. Heizer was arrested earlier this year on felony charges of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, rape of a child (second and third degree) and child molestation.

After Heizer made bail, police received reports that Heizer was stalking his victim and appearing around the child’s home and at their school.

Bail was set at only $100,000. Let’s hope he can’t make that or the judge is persuaded to post an even higher amount. If you let this guy out, chances are he’ll be stalking his victim again.

Vern E. Heizer, stalking, child rape, child molestation

In Rio Hondo, Texas, junior high school teacher Stephen Lucas was arrested in August and charged with three counts of deadly conduct, two counts of making terroristic threats, one count of unlawfully carrying of a weapon, and one count of evading arrest with a motor vehicle.

Busy guy, wow.

School board members have told the superintendent and school district’s attorney to begin the termination procedures. The board wants him to be out of contact with students, and will permit him to resign. Currently, Lucas is suspended with pay.

I’m guessing that Lucas is being let go because of some kind of “good behavior clause” in his contract. However, I’m always disturbed when school districts let abusive or trouble-making teachers resign.

I don’t know if a fear of lawsuits or the teacher’s union, but as a parent I would like bad teachers fired, like, immediately.

Stephen Lucas, deadly conduct, terroristic threats, unlawfully carrying of a weapon, evading arrest with a motor vehicle

In Westport, Connecticut, former Bedford Middle School art teacher, Paul Held, 69, is being sentenced in one of the most disturbing child porn cases the U.S. Attorney’s office has ever seen.

Held had a huge collection of 3 million to 4 million child porn images. Authorities say that some of the pictures were taken in Held’s home, and others were taken in school including “under skirt” photos of his unsuspecting students. He also confessed to collecting snuff films showing the rape and murder of children.

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In Alabama, Rehobeth Middle School teacher Andrew Martin, 47, was arrested for possession of a concealed firearm without a permit for having a gun in his car.

Martin didn’t plan to shoot up the school. Instead, he was just stupid enough to leave his loaded weapon in his unlocked car for anyone passing by - including students - to take. (A school resource officer spotted the weapon through an open window in Martin’s vehicle.)

Doh!

If found guilty, Martin could get six months in jail and a $500 fine. He’s already been suspended for three days without pay from his job.

If I was the judge, I’d sentence him to community service, a $500 fine, and 24 hours of listening to Johnny Cash’s “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town.”

Andrew Martin, concealed firearm, teacher with gun

In Aztec, New Mexico, Koogler Middle School’s new choir teacher Jonathan Hamilton, 33, was arrested during a police sting that targeted illegal public sexual activity at a city park. He allegedly exposed himself to a plainclothes officer. Whoops!

He was one of 15 arrested in the sting operation that targeted public male (i.e. gay) sexual encounters. Several of the men busted included prominent community members, a pastor, a business owner and a part-time college instructor.

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In Des Moines, Iowa, sixth-grade teacher Mark Haburn was arrested and charged with third-degree sexual abuse. His victim was a 14-year-old girl. The abuse did not take place at Nevada Middle School where Haburn teaches.

Back in 2005, Haburn was charged with assaulting an underage female student. A jury found him not guilty, and Haburn did not lose his job. However, the student’s family filed a civil lawsuit against Haburn and the school district.

Police said they first heard of about the allegations against Haburn in July and were conducting an investigation before they arrested him.

Sounds like this guy is showing a pattern of assault against young females. I hope the district concludes this as well and fires the bastard.

Mark Haburn, child abuse, sexual abuse, assault, Nevada Middle School

In Cortland New York, Allendale Columbia elementary school teacher Michael Bohn, 41, pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree grand larceny, and endangering the welfare of a child. Two counts of first-degree robbery for robbing a bank with a loaded gun last February were dropped in exchange for his plea.

Bohn will be serving between five and 12 1/2 years in state prison for using a .44-magnum handgun to rob $16,000 in cash from a bank. A witness outside the bank called 911 and police caught him as he left the bank.

His arrest shocked parents since he received an award for teaching excellence back in 2002. Bohn taught history and math to sixth graders and geography to seventh graders.

Sounds like he should have been teaching, thou shall not steal, too. Or does this have to do with teachers being paid so little?

Michael Bohn, bank robbery, criminal possession of a weapon, grand larceny, endangering the welfare of a child, Allendale Columbia

In Kernersville, North Carolina, Melvin Fair, 55, was charged with four counts of indecent liberties involving two girls, both students at Southeast Middle School. The recent allegation involves a 14-year-old girl. The other allegation - indecent liberties with a 12-year-old girl - goes back to 1999.

Fair is a PE teacher and athletic director. He has been with the school since 1998 and working in the school district since 1995. The allegations state that Fair knew the girls from gym classes and that the incidents happened when he was alone with the student.

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