VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) -- Police arrested a Kellam High School teacher on Tuesday after he allegedly engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a student.
28-year-old George Brown was charged with one count of Custodial Indecent Liberties.
Police began investigating after a female student disclosed the incident.
The investigation revealed that between January and April, the teacher and student were engaged in an inappropriate relationship.
"If you met the guy, normal guy, liked fishing a lot, and he just married his wife a little bit, month ago," said sophomore Kevin Swihart, who had Brown for two years. "I was shocked to hear that."
Brown has been a technology education teacher at Kellam since 2010. During the 2011-2012 academic year, he also taught at Ocean Lakes High School.
In light of the allegation and his arrest, the school division suspended Brown without pay.
"You know, you're looking at an adult, and you're looking at a child, and you would hope that, you know, teachers that are in positions that they are in would make better choices," parent Cameron Swain told 13News Now.
"They're there to mentor our children, you know, show them good characteristics, good morals, good ethics, and, obviously, if he is found guilty of that then he is not doing that for our children," Swain said.
"I'm honestly upset, because I liked him a lot as a teacher, so I'm upset that he's gone. I hope for the best for him," Swihart stated.
Brown bonded out of jail Wednesday afternoon.
Parents did not receive a notification from the school or school division about the arrest. 13News Now asked Virginia Beach City Public Schools why that was the case. Spokeswoman Lauren Nolasco provided this statement:
While we understand parents may have preferred to hear of the arrest of Mr. Brown from Kellam administration, we hope they understand that an ongoing police investigation limits the amount of information the school can release. In addition, issuing a schoolwide alert without detailed information can lead to widespread speculation and increased anxiety. It was a conscious decision that the best course of action was to field questions and concerns individually rather than relying on a schoolwide alert.
Police encourage anyone who may have additional information about the case to contact the Special Victims Unit at 757-385-4101.
