Former Teacher Allegedly Groped, Made Sexual Advances On Students; Faces 18 Sex Crime Charges

A 47-year-old former teacher in northern Indiana is facing more than a dozen sex crimes charges after allegedly groping students.

Former high school teacher Andrew Cowells was charged with 10 counts of possessing child pornography, two counts of child solicitation, two counts each of voyeurism and battery and vicarious sexual gratification, the Associated Press reported, citing court documents.

Cowells was first placed on leave on May 5 after allegedly making "inappropriate comments of a sexual nature," according to the Concord Community Schools District in Elkhart, Indiana. The social studies teacher was then fired Monday from the school district.

Cowells allegedly asked students to touch themselves or let him touch them in front of the class, court documents showed. The court filings further alleged that he made sexual comments to students and inappropriately touched students while in the boys’ bathroom.

The students were said to be between 15 to 16 years old, according to the documents.

Investigators tied to the case allegedly also found sexually explicit photos of male teenagers on Cowells’ phone.

Aside from Cowells, three other teachers were also placed on leave, WXIN reported, citing district officials. Search warrants were obtained by authorities to also search the mobile phones of these teachers.

“I’m kind of shocked, he was a good teacher and I think for the most part the kids that had him thought he was a very good teacher,” local news outlet WNDU quoted a parent named Amy Johnson as saying. Her daughter previously had Cowells as her teacher in the seventh grade, according to the outlet.

The charging documents obtained by WNDU also said that Cowells allegedly once told an unnamed 15-year-old student to put his hands down in his own pockets and play pocket pool. The teacher allegedly told the student that this caused him to be aroused.

“That’s sick, that’s really sick, like it’s not something you would expect to happen because schools supposed to be a safe place,” the outlet quoted a student, whose name has been kept anonymous to protect their identity, as saying.