North Edgecombe High School teacher arrested, charged with sex assault on campus

The Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office says a North Edgecombe High School teacher has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a student on campus.

Posted 11:42 a.m. Feb 1, 2023 — Updated 10:21 p.m. Feb 1, 2023

WITN

, WRAL Eastern North Carolina reporter Keenan Willard

The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office says a North Edgecombe High School teacher has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a student on campus.

Authorities say back on January 19th, the reported victim told a school staff member that she had been sexually assaulted by a teacher on campus.

The teacher, 29-year-old Justin Tyson of Farmville, was arrested at his home Tuesday and charged with three counts of statutory sex offense with a child 13,14, or 15 years of age and where the defendant is at least six years older than the victim.

Tyson was given a $100,000 secured bond and placed in the Edgecombe County Detention Center.

Edgecombe County Public Schools acknowledged the arrest in a statement.

We are aware that an ECPS employee was arrested and charged yesterday based on allegations of inappropriate behavior and interactions with a student. When the allegations were brought to our attention, we immediately reported them to law enforcement and the employee was suspended pending further investigation.

We take the safety and well-being of our students seriously and are deeply troubled by this news. Student safety is our top priority and we encourage parents and students to make us aware of any situation that concerns them. As always, our counseling staff is available to students who need support.

Investigators are calling on families to talk to their children about anything at school that might be weighing on them.

"If you have a child and you're noticing changes in their attitude, changes in their school schedule, in the way they do their homework, or their grades are dropping, talk to them, find out why that's happening," said Robert Tinder with the Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office. "Sometimes that's an issue."

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