A married high school teacher and mum-of-two has been arrested on suspicion of molesting a student at her school. Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, Georgia, has been charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee, agent or foster parent, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI).
Lee Country High School, where Weaver worked as a ninth-grade teacher, requested the Leesburg Police Department investigate the allegations on February 3, and the GBI was called to assist the following day. Police identified the victim as a student under 18 at the school. The exact age of the victim has not been released, but local reports indicate he may have been as young as 15 years old, according to The Sun. GBI then issued an arrest warrant for Weaver on Tuesday (February 17), but Weaver handed herself in to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday.
She was later released on bail, set at $50,000 (£37,000), according to WALB News.
In a statement, Lee County School System confirmed the investigation, saying the teacher had resigned from their position. It said: “Reports and rumors are circulating concerning alleged inappropriate contact between a teacher and student in a Lee County School System school.
“We, at the 9th grade campus, can confirm that there is an ongoing legal investigation involving law enforcement concerning the alleged conduct of a former staff member who is no longer working for the district.”
The school said it acted “immediately” after being tipped off about the allegations, to “ensure the safety and well-being of students," adding that the "individuals who have been directly affected have been contacted". The school said it would continue to cooperate with law enforcement and those affected throughout the investigation.
The statement continued: “The safety and well-being of our students remains our highest priority. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.”
The investigation remains ongoing. Once complete, the case file will be given to the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
It comes after a man who sexually abused five of his children, when they were between the ages of three and 17, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Noel Farrell, 70, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to a number of sample counts of sexual abuse against his four daughters and one son at various addresses in County Sligo, Ireland, over a period of two decades. Farrell locked his children in a room for days at a time without food and forced them to drink urine, the court heard.
