Teacher of the Year accused of groping student and having sex with two others
Law enforcement authorities arrested a former 'Teacher of the Year' for allegedly groping a student and having sex with two others.
48-year-old Spencer Herron has been booked on three counts of sexual assault for his reported actions while teaching at Kell High School in Marietta, Georgia.
During the 2016-2017 school year, the professor, who has taught video production for over 15 years, won the "Teacher of the Year" award for Cobb County.
The alleged sexual predator is currently being held on a $55,220 bail after being arrested at his home in Acworth on Friday. Lauren Pozen of Channel 2 learned from authorities that the alleged actions took place over the course of two school years.
Herron allegedly texted a female student repeatedly to meet with him on the school grounds during the same school year he was honored, telling her that it was for a club meeting, according to the arrest warrant that was issued.
The student, on condition of anonymity, claimed that Herron groped her for a total of four times during those meetings. The 48-year-old allegedly had sex multiple times with two other students between 2016 and 2018, according to the said warrants.
Law enforcement authorities were informed that at the teacher's request, the female student had unprotected sex with him multiple times, reported Channel 2 Action News.
The alleged sexual assault continued into the 2017-2018 school year, Cobb County Police said.
Reportedly, Herron told one of his victims to "be quiet" when she began to cry during one of the assaults.
The warrant further states that the professor proceeded to have sex with another student even after she said that "she did not want to continue."
Channel 2 Action News contacted the school district. They sent an email statement saying:
“The district is aware of the allegations and has been cooperating fully with the police investigation.”
Marietta resident Cindy Spencer reacted to the said allegations, “I was kind of shocked." During his time as a professor at Kell High School, Herron was a former business owner and had served in the Air National Guard.
Many people who spoke to Pozen claimed that they are skeptical of the charges, to say the least.
“You don’t always know what the truth is. Someone can say something about something just to hurt their reputation. You don’t know,” Spencer told Pozen.
“I would always want to know the history of this person making the complaint as well as what kind of history do they have, could they have provoked something like that?” Marietta resident Mike Flowers said.
That being said, two former students told Pozen on condition of anonymity that Herron was a great teacher and coach.
Another student who had learned from him asserted that he was kindhearted and professional.
Choosing not to appear in front of the camera, the student told Pozen that she finds it hard to believe that the accusations are true.