FISHERS, Ind. — A math teacher at a Hamilton Southeastern junior high school was arrested for child molesting and fondling of a child younger than 14.
Ian Gray, who was previously listed as a mathematics teacher at Riverside Junior High, was booked in to the Hamilton County Jail late Thursday night after turning himself in. The arrest comes after a clinical psychologist filed a report with the Department of Child Services in May. The district removed him from the classroom as soon as they were notified.
The psychologist said during a counseling session, the victim said Gray had sexually assaulted her approximately 10 times during the 2017-2018 school year, when she was in sixth grade at Fall Creek Intermediate School. Gray was her math teacher.
The student said the first time Gray inappropriately touched her, it was in a small group room where the teacher made her go for using her phone during school hours. The blinds were closed and paper covered the small window. He allegedly touched her bare thigh through her ripped jeans and then touched her under her shirt. The student said the misconduct continued once a week and escalated to Gray touching her private areas under her clothes.
The victim's parents noticed behavior changes in their daughter during the school year, including cutting class and avoiding Gray at a track meet, where Gray was a coach. Her grades also began to drop at Fall Creek Intermediate.
Another parent told the victim's mom Gray had been disciplining the girl alone in a small group room. When the victim's mom talked to the school's principal, the principal told her Gray would no longer be allowed to speak to the child privately. The principal later told police he did not suspect abuse was occurring.
The victim's parents began taking her to a therapist after sixth grade because "the shift was drastic" with her behavior, and they felt something had happened to her, but had not been aware of the allegations against Gray until the therapy sessions. Fall Creek Intermediate's school counselor at the time recalled the victim having complaints of Gray being too hard on her in class at the time, but did not have any other notes from that school year.
Hamilton Southeastern Schools released a statement Friday morning.
We are aware that a former school employee has been charged with alleged misconduct with a minor student. We have cooperated fully with the Fishers Police Department since its investigation began, and will continue to do so in coordination with the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office. When the investigation commenced, we placed the school employee on administrative leave, per district policy. The employee has since resigned.
We believe strongly in protecting the safety and well-being of our students and that includes working with authorities to investigate allegations of wrongdoing that arise involving any student.
To preserve the integrity of the investigation and protect the privacy of the victim, it is our district’s practice to refrain from publicly discussing this matter. We will continue to support law enforcement and anyone who has been affected by these alleged events.
Gray was released from jail on bond. Anyone with information on this case or others should call Detective Tracy Jones at 317-595-3417.