A Broughton Magnet High School teacher is facing several charges after he was accused of sexually assaulting a child.
Wake County sheriff's deputies arrested 57-year-old Steven Kohls, of Dunn, on Wednesday. His arrest comes after deputies received reports of an alleged sexual assault on Saturday, May 2, that happened in 2005 in Wake County.
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Kohls faces several charges, including 13 counts of sex charges where the victim was a child.
According to a letter from Broughton High School Principal Janiece Dilts, Kohls is a career and technical education teacher at the school.
A former Broughton student spoke with WRAL News, recounting the traumatic experience. Raleigh police investigated at the time, but it never resulted in charges because the district attorney declined to file any.
Wake County District Attorney, Lorrin Freeman released the following statement:
An investigation into allegations of sexual battery involving Kohls was reviewed by our office and it was determined there were not sufficient evidence to move forward. Mr. Kohls currently has been charged with offenses that are entirely unrelated to those allegations, and which did not arise from his position as a teacher for the Wake County Public School system.
But after hearing about these charges, former student, Wilson Angley decided to speak.
In addition to his role as an educator at Broughton High School, Kohls was an active member in Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts of America. It is unclear if Kohls held a leadership role in the organization, but he has been removed from the Scouting program.
The Occoneechee Council of Scouting America released the following statement:
We are aware of the arrest of Steven Kohls. His membership in Scouting has been revoked, and he has been permanently prohibited from any participation in Scouting programs. The council will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement.
Student talks about enduring abuse
Wilson Angley’s lasting memory at Broughton High School is more of a nightmare.
"He comes behind me, closes the door and tells me, take my shirt off," Angley said.
His interest for cars tarnished after an alleged incident in Steven Kohls shop class.
He says Kohls touched him inappropriately for several minutes in 2022.
"He kind of ran up to me. And was like, forgive me, you know, just trying to give me… sorry… don't pay attention to that I didn't mean anything by it, you know, sorry, you know, just that kind of thing," Angley said.
He tried to forget about it, but couldn’t. And after Angley told a friend and a teacher in the fall, they encouraged him to report it.
Raleigh police investigated the incident in 2022, but said the district attorney’s office declined to file charges. We're waiting for the district attorney to respond to my questions about why.
Thursday, new charges were filed. Kohls is accused of 13 child sex crimes with three different victims dating back to 2005.
The prosecutor said in court that Kohls admitted to at least one of the sex acts when interviewed by police.
News of the arrest is a weight lifted off Angley’s shoulders.
"When I scrolled on the website and I saw his mugshot, I had the biggest smile," Angley said.
Broughton sent a message to families about these charges, assuring them it didn’t involve current students and was not on campus.
"I want to assure you that we take the safety of our students and staff members very seriously," the letter from Dilts read in part. "While privacy laws prevent me from providing much additional information about the situation, I can share that Mr. Kohls is suspended with pay."
WRAL News followed up on Thursday about what allegedly happened to Angley, and Wake County Public School System wouldn't confirm the investigation, but shared Kohls' suspensions during his career. The same day Raleigh police started their investigation, Kohl was suspended with pay until Oct. 26. Then he was placed on three days of unpaid suspension.
While Angley hopes there aren't any more victims, he hopes his message inspires any other potential victims to speak up too.
"Only reason I'm doing this is hopefully other people see it, and other people that have experiences will come out and say something as well," Angley said.
WRAL News has reached out to the public defender's office for comment on these accusations against Kohls and has yet to receive a reply.
Kohls will remain in jail with no bond. He will be back in court on June 4.