Va. teacher arrested for having sex with teen
An elementary school teacher in Prince William County has been charged with having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl he met through Craigslist.
Police arrested 34-year-old Heber Ashbrook of Gainesville on Friday and charged him with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Ashbrook is a fourth-grade teacher at Bennett Elementary School near Manassas.
Police say Ashbrook met the girl after placing a personal ad on the Web site Craigslist.
The alleged victim is not a student at Ashbrook's school. A school system spokeswoman said an administrative investigation has been launched. Schools are on spring break this week so Ashbrook is not in the classroom.
Ashbrook did not immediately return a call to his home on Monday.
By
Washington Post editors
| March 29, 2010; 3:28 PM ET
Categories:
Virginia
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Posted by: triumph110 | March 29, 2010 8:12 PM | Report abuse
Why is it that hundreds of public school teachers have been caught in situations like this, but yet the news agencies don't discuss how difficult it is to discipline a teacher due to the contractual rules that protect bad teachers and punish good ones. If the NEA chief was held to the same scrutiny the Pope is held? That would be curious.
Posted by: mwcob | March 30, 2010 8:30 AM | Report abuse
This article needs one of those wonderful booking photos that make us all nod knowingly and say "Yep, that guy's a child molester ... they should have seen this one coming".
Posted by: Mike40 | March 30, 2010 8:45 AM | Report abuse
kids are so damn annoying my hat goes off to anyone who could stomach 8 hours a day dealing with a room full of them. while i dont condone adult/teen relationships, I'm not surprized when a teacher falls into that trap. parents need to be aware of what their kids are up to.
Posted by: MarilynManson | March 30, 2010 8:51 AM | Report abuse
so the 15 yr old girl responded to his ad? you're also supposed to verify that you are over the age of 18 to use the personals section of craigslist. seems like the 15 yr old girl should be in trouble too.
Posted by: gmugrad06 | March 30, 2010 10:54 AM | Report abuse
mwcob implies that it is hard to get rid of teachers who sexually abuse their students (or are involved with minors). The NEA chief doesn't protect these teachers. When folks discuss how hard it is to get rid of "bad" teachers it doesn't mean those charged with crimes. Unlike the Pope, if a teacher is a known pedophile they won't be rehired or moved from school to school. When a teacher is moved due to being a poor teacher, from school to school, that is an entirely different issue (and yes, it is a problem).
Teachers are put on leave (paid or unpaid depending) when they are accused of a crime like this, and even when truly innocent, and found not guilty, their name is tarnished and they can't teach again.
Posted by: researcher2 | March 30, 2010 6:11 PM | Report abuse
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This is happening all over the country. Go to www.schoolteachernews.com and click on the Scandal page. This year they have documented over 150 of these types of incidents. They also have a map of where the incidents have taken place. In 2009 they found 464 of these kinds of cases.