Jan 1, 2007 - It sounds more like a plague in Henderson County, Texas as the Athens Review recalled the top 10 stories of 2006 and #3 was "Area teachers accused of inappropriate behavior". Not just one or two, either.
Malakoff ISD band director Jeremy Robert Jordan, 28, was charged with being involved in an improper relationship with a student, a second-degree felony. The alleged victim is a 17-year-old female student. Jordan was in his first year at Malakoff.
Lance Scott Smith, 35, was arrested by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department July 17. He was charged with sexual assault of a child. Smith is a coach at Seagoville High School in the Dallas Independent School District.
Two Brownsboro ISD teachers, Donald Gene Dudley and Daniel E. Burns, are now serving jail time. Dudley was found guilty in Smith County, while Burns was sentenced to two years in a state jail facility for tampering with a government witness. He was on trial for improper relationship between an educator and a student, but the jury could not reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared on that charge.
A third Brownsboro ISD teacher, Andrew Malone, was initially charged with a similar crime but was eventually knocked down to a misdemeanor.
Former Mabank ISD teacher Tracy Dawn Gill is also facing charges of being involved in a sexual relationship with a student. She was arrested in May.
[Speaking of the number of cases.] “I think it’s finally starting to come out, and people are talking about it and they know it’s wrong,” Henderson County Sheriff’s Investigator Kevin Hanes said, regarding the high volume of similar cases that have sprung up recently in the county."Calling it "inappropriate" sounds, uh, inappropriate. It's criminal.
