An Ohio gym teacher is in BIG trouble this week after being formally accused of sexually abusing 28 first grade girls.
John Austin Hopkins was officially charged by a grand jury with 36 counts of gross sexual imposition over the 28 young girls at Clearcreek Elementary School in Springboro, Ohio.
Related: Hayden Panettiere’s BF Slapped With One Count Of Domestic Violence!
The Springboro School District communications coordinator, Scott Marshall, spoke to People about the incident that led to the charges — and how everything started when a parent came forward to ask about something his daughter had told him (below):
“When a parent asked his daughter how her day went, she said it was a great day, because she got to sit on Mr. Hopkins lap. He was concerned by that.”
Uh… no kidding!
The school district began to investigate, and they realized that the gymnasium was in plain view of security cameras inside the building. So, they checked the footage, and sure enough, investigators allegedly saw the girl sitting on Hopkins’ lap, just as she’d described.
Marshall continued, telling the outlet (below):
“Within minutes, John Austin Hopkins was removed from the classroom and we turned it over to the Springboro Police Department. It was all out in the open. None of the footage showed him being one-on-one with students. It was all out in the open. It’s shocking, it’s gut wrenching.”
Wow…
The school board placed Hopkins on paid administrative leave back on March 8; they eventually accepted his resignation four days later. Now, though, the police investigation into the incident is really starting to take shape as charges were officially filed this week — and even more video evidence has apparently been collected.
Warren (Ohio) County Prosecutor David P. Fornshell said this week that authorities have been reviewing video tape all the way back to December 2018, and in several of those videos, Hopkins can allegedly be seen “putting his hands up the shirts and skirts of the girls.” Disgusting…
Fornshell said more to the media (below):
“It was apparent within the first day worth of video that this was going to be bigger than, frankly, anything we’ve ever handled. All of the little girls in the class knew this type of conduct was going on. The kids didn’t recognize anything at all going wrong. But when you’re watching it as an adult your stomach starts rolling. Because you’re like, ‘This is not okay at all.’ Frankly, they loved him as a teacher because of the amount of affection he was showing them. What these kids didn’t realize is this was completely inappropriate and criminal. One of the little girls — he had convinced her they were going to be married when she got older.”
WHAT?! That’s despicable!!!
In total, the grand jury was presented with 88 alleged incidents of inappropriate touching, based on the video evidence; they eventually decided to come back with 36 counts, relating to 28 different girls. All of the counts are third-degree felonies, and each one carries a five-year maximum prison sentence.
Hopkins is still a long way from trial, let alone sentencing, but we can only hope that justice will be served in this disgusting and scary case…
[Image via Warren County Sheriff’s Office]