Lee County middle school teacher facing child sex crime charges; sheriff believes there may be more victims

Andrew Allen, 32, is behind bars, facing charges of child sex crimes with numerous students over the course of 10 years. Investigators believe there could be more victims.

Allen, of Siler City, is charged with statutory sex offense with a child by an adult, indecent liberties with a child and sexual activity with a student. Allen worked at San-Lee from 2012 to 2022. In a statement, the Lee County Board of Education said Allen had been suspended on Nov. 2 and resigned his job on Nov. 6.

WRAL News spoke with a mother who says her son had Allen as a teacher five years ago. She says her son was verbally abused by Allen – and that it got so bad he almost took his own life.

She is infuriated it's taken so long to put Allen behind bars, saying she reached out to the school multiple times about issues her kids were having with him. She strongly believes this could have been prevented.

“The school told me they didn’t have enough proof. That they were handling it," she said. "All they did was move my son to a different classroom.”

It wasn't just her son. Her daughter was also taught by Allen just last year, and she, too, says she was verbally abused by him in front of her classmates.

The mother also reported her daughter's case, but says nothing was ever done.

“I’m upset because if they would have taken action, maybe he wouldn’t have done all that to all those kids," she said.

Lee County schools say they first learned about the sexual abuse allegations on November 2. Allen was suspended without pay. He then resigned on November 6,

They provided this statement, saying in part:

“We understand that there will be many questions and that our community will need time and support in order to process and respond to this terrible situation. We are providing additional support to the SanLee Middle School community, including additional counselors and other staff to support students.”

The Lee County Sheriff's Office believes there may be other victims.

If you have children who had Allen as a teacher at any point, investigators are asking you to talk with them about any possible inappropriate conduct.

The sheriff's office asked any parents with suspicions to contact them, saying, "Please understand how very important it is to speak with your child(ren) to ensure that no young person is left with an undiscovered, untreated, lasting, and traumatizing memory. The second reason is to make sure that any possible victims have the opportunity to come forward and to have a voice that could lead to further prosecution."

Allen was arrested Thursday and held on $250,000 secured bond. He was expected to be transferred from Lee County Jail to Central Prison in Raleigh.