Georgia Substitute Teacher Arrested For Masturbating In Front Of Second-Grade Students And Filming The Act

A substitute teacher from Georgia has been charged with 19 counts of child molestation after allegedly masturbating in front of second-grade students during school hours.

Amelia Ressler, 30, of Carrollton, filmed herself performing the act while inside a classroom at Mt. Zion Elementary School. She was arrested on Friday after staff members of the school reported her misconduct, reported NBC News.

"It appears she was masturbating while the classroom was full of kids," said Ashley Hulsey, the spokesperson of Carroll County Sheriff's Office. She also said that authorities are already in the process of interviewing the 19 students who were in the classroom during the alleged incident and that additional charges could also be added based on the interviews.

Calling the incident disturbing, Hulsey said the children could have witnessed the act. "Where she was sitting, it wasn't like it was a closed desk and [the kids] couldn't look up and visually see what she was doing at the time," Hulsey said, adding that they had obtained evidence because Ressler took a video of herself during the act and disseminated it.

According to a report from the New York Post, the police began questioning Ressler after receiving a tip-off about a video that was doing rounds in the community. Ressler is currently in Carroll County Jail.

"We appreciate the dedication Carroll County Schools has for the safety of their students as we were contacted immediately following the allegations and we will continue to work closely with them during the remainder of the investigation," the sheriff's office said.

In a similar incident, another middle school teacher from Florida was arrested for having a sexual relationship with a female student. Hayley Morgan Hallmark, a 35-year-old soccer coach at C.W. Ruckel Middle School in Niceville, has been charged with lewd and lascivious conduct with a student by an authority figure.

The incident happened over a period of two years. The victim, now 17, told the police that she was an eighth-grader when the relationship and assaults began.