Stepfather Gropes 16-Year-Old Girl In Front Of Teacher, Classmates During Online Class
A stepfather in Ohio is accused of groping his teenage daughter in front of her teacher and classmates during an online class.
The 52-year-old man, a registered sex offender, was arrested after the teacher alerted authorities about his behavior in front of the camera.
Police said that the 16-year-old girl was attending a virtual school class for the Ohio Virtual Academy from her Berea home when her stepfather, David Lowe, went up to her from behind, Cleveland 19 News reported Tuesday.
Lowe was wearing nothing but underwear while standing in view of the teacher and 39 students during the Sept. 28 incident.
While standing behind the teenager, Lowe "rubbed his crotch against the back of her head," said Lt. Tom Walker with the Berea Police Department.
The teacher swiftly took action and informed authorities about the stepfather's "obscene behavior," police said.
"The Ohio Virtual Academy reported to our department that a female high school student was attending class online at her home in Berea when a male identified as her stepfather came up behind her wearing only his underwear and rubbed his crotch against the back of her head," Lt. Walker told the outlet.
"The teacher seeing this obscene behavior reached out to our department and knowing that the student was attending online here at her home in Berea and made us aware of what she had seen," he continued.
Lowe was charged on Sept. 29 with sexual imposition, according to the New York Post. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and posted a bond of $50,000.
When school officials spoke to the teenager's mother about the incident, she "acted irate denying anything ever occurred before hanging up," police were cited as saying by The Kansas City Star.
Officials took the opportunity to urge parents to stay vigilant about what their kids see online, including in virtual classes so that such incidents come to the police department's notice.
"See something, say something," Lt. Walker said, adding: "As law enforcement officials, it's our job to protect the children in our community and we want to be aware of any obscene behaviors that occur like this."
The Ohio Virtual Academy addressed the incident involving the stepfather in a statement to Cleveland 19 News.
"Ohio Virtual Academy is aware of the unfortunate incident last week and immediately reached out to the parents and the appropriate authorities," said Kristin Stewart, the head of the school. "As a rule, OHVA always offers students access to licensed school counselors and the availability of outside clinical staff through our partnership with Syntero for any further mental health supports needed by students."
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