Acworth, GEORGIA

August 15, 2008 - Joseph Placanica, 40, an eighth-grade science teacher at Durham Middle School, was arrested Thursday for stalking a former student.

Placanica allegedly began "an affair" with his former student, who is now 17 years old, in May of 2007. After she broke off the relationship with him, Placanica continued to try to contact her at work, through text messages and on her MySpace, said Sgt. Dana Pierce, a Cobb police spokesman. When the 40-year-old married teacher showed up at the gym where the woman worked, she called police.

The girl is a student at another Cobb County school. Placanica resigned Friday. Placanica is married.