FAIRFIELD, OH — A substitute teacher at an Ohio middle school has been charged with masturbating while teaching a class.
Tracey Abraham, 41, was teaching at Creekside Middle School in Fairfield, a suburb outside Cincinnati, when the incident occurred, school authorities said. Students saw Abraham behaving strangely behind his desk and complained to a school resource officer\.
The school resource officer pulled Abraham from the class and then booted him from the building, the school district added. Fairfield Police later arrested the teacher.
Abraham is being charged with public indecency, a first-degree misdemeanor. The substitute teacher is now out on bond, but is barred from contact with anyone younger than 18.
Fairfield City Schools said Abraham did not expose himself to students, to the district’s knowledge, and did not have any physical contact with students. Creekside Middle School staff have reached out to the parents and guardians of every student that was in the class.
“Pure disgust. Knowing that my daughter had been in class with him prior to when this happened and thinking about, ‘What if it would have happened while she was in his classroom?’ It made me sick to my stomach,” one parent told WLWT 5.
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The school district issued the following statement on the matter:
“We want to assure you that this individual will not be returning to our schools. The school district will be reporting this incident to the Ohio Department of Education. Providing a safe, secure and positive learning environment for our students and staff has always been and will continue to be our most important priority. Our local Fairfield Police Department has again proven to be an outstanding partner in these types of unfortunate situations, and we greatly appreciate their service.”
Abraham is expected to return to court on Jan. 15. Court records indicate Abraham has not yet retained an attorney.
Photo from Fairfield Police