Knightdale teacher out, but student's mom fumes at lack of charges

KNIGHTDALE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Wake County teacher is out of a job and the mother of one of his students said it's because he was accused of inappropriately touching and talking to female students.

A Wake County Public School System spokesperson said the Knightdale High School teacher left the job Wednesday but said personnel laws prevent the system from discussing why.

The mother of a 15-year-old female student contacted ABC11 but didn't want to be identified so her daughter wouldn't be.

She said that earlier this year, "a teacher touched her and put his hands on her butt. He also told her and her friend that they had pretty hips and thighs. On another occasion, he told my daughter that when she wears dresses that it rides up and that no matter what she wears that he's going to look."

She said she recently spoke with a school administrator.

"They told me that he was fired. Not only did he touch my daughter but several other students. Several, she said to me. That's what the assistant principal said to me, several," the mother told ABC11.

The school system said the teacher resigned.

Police said they weren't told about the allegations until the school system had virtually completed its investigation.

Knightdale Police Chief Lawrence Capps said that by then parents had already been told that the teacher would be disciplined.

He said that may be why parents of one of the girls decided they wanted to move on and declined to allow their daughter to talk to police.

Capps said his investigators took the remaining evidence to the Wake County District Attorney's Office, which decided it wasn't enough to press criminal charges.

The mother of the 15-year-old said she's livid about the whole thing and is most concerned about the man teaching again somewhere.

And since he resigned and wasn't fired it's not clear whether he can keep his teaching certificate.

"I'm not going to let him rest. I'm not going to let him allow to go and apply at another school somewhere," she said. "This is not good."