The New Hanover County school system has faced an uphill battle when it comes to sexual offense cases between students and school staff members.
In 2019, Michael Earl Kelly pleaded guilty to 59 charges of child sexual abuse after he d abused nearly 20 victims during his years as a science teacher at Isaac Bear Early College High School.
Last year, the New Hanover County Board of Education fired Roland-Grise Middle School band director Peter Michael Frank after he was charged with 12 felony sex crimes. He was later indicted on an additional 17 sex crime charges that included sex offenses with a child aged 13-15 between 1998 and 2000.
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His alleged crimes included multiple counts of indecent liberties with children and students â and he was not the first teacher to be accused of sexual assault against students at New Hanover County.
In fact, Frank was the third employee to be arrested for sex crimes against students in a two-year period.
Frank has been accused of sex crimes dating back as far as 1999 and as recent as 2019.
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WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Itâs been more than 10 months since the New Hanover County School Board voted to approve an agreement allowing former Superintendent Tim Markley to resign - granting him more than $200,000 worth of benefits.
Markley faced criticism from many in the community after multiple teachers were arrested and charged with sex crimes against students in a two-year span.
The agreement to pay Markley $195,000 in severance along with $32,966.66 in benefits caused some residents to question the actions of the board.
On Jan. 24, Roland-Grise Middle School band teacher Peter Michael Frank became the third New Hanover County Schools employee to be arrested on charges of sexual misconduct involving a student since 2018.
Frank, 47, has since been charged with nearly 30 felony counts for crimes that allegedly took place between 1999 and 2019.
The search warrant issued three days after Frank’s arrest allowed law enforcement to obtain his personnel file, which revealed he had been repeatedly counseled by New Hanover County Schools for “inappropriate relationships” with students.
It further stated that Frank allegedly told law enforcement he was attracted to middle-school-aged girls. Searches of his phone and computers allegedly turned up photos of the “clothed-backsides of female students.”