Pine Forest H.S. Teacher Assistant Charged With Taking Indecent Liberties With Child

Jennifer Blanchard Fike, 28, of Fayetteville, was charged with five countsof indecent liberties with a child and five counts of taking indecent libertieswith a student by school personnel. Fike turned herself in to sheriff'sdeputies Monday night.

Fike was employed by Pine Forest High School as a teaching assistant and bus driver at the time the offenses took place.

Fike, the mother of a 3-year-old son, had worked at the school since 1997, but as of Tuesday, no longer works for the Cumberland County school system according to a school system spokesperson.

The boy involved did ride Fike's school bus. The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said the charges include inappropriate touching, not sexual intercourse.

Sheriff Earl "Moose" Butler said the allegations all took place at Fike's home in Fayetteville, not on school grounds, between January and mid-March.

The investigation began afterinformation regarding these offenses was brought to the attention of theschool resource officer during the investigation of an unrelated incident.

"The rapport that's built with this school body -- whether it be with faculty or students -- it gives them the confidence in law enforcement officers that are on campus," Butler said.

Fike was released on a $75,000 unsecured bond.