Docs: Former Noblesville teacher gave students alcohol, assaulted them at his home
NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) – A former teacher at Noblesville High School has been arrested and charged with three felonies.
According to the Noblesville Police Department, 35-year-old Nicholas McKinney was taken into custody just after 7 p.m. Wednesday evening.
Police said he was initially transported to the Hamilton County Jail, but will be transferred to the Marion County Jail at a time yet to be determined.
The arrest stems from an incident that occurred in the 6200 block of Burlington Avenue in Indianapolis in 2012.
Investigators said that McKinney was texting with a student in the summer of 2012 when McKinney invited the girl and a friend to his house when his wife was away. The two victims stated that McKinney showed them how to do tequila shots, then invited them to stay overnight in his bed while he stayed on the couch. McKinney had formerly been a teacher of one of the victims.
Each of the victims said that they woke up to McKinney trying to put his hands down their pants.
In an interview with police, McKinney originally stated that he never had students in his house for any reason, then changed his statement to say that student assistants would babysit, then changed his statement again after being told that one of the victims had been able to describe the inside of his home.
McKinney denied that anything sexual occurred with the victims.
Court records show that he faces one felony charge of criminal deviate conduct and two charges of child seduction.
Police said the Noblesville School Corporation made police aware of the information on August 2 this year after they were made aware of the incident, the same day that one of the victims reported the incident.
The school corporation also released a statement on the alleged incident.
“Once this concern was raised, we immediately contacted the Noblesville Police Department and have worked jointly in cooperation with authorities. The employee in question was immediately removed from contact with students and is no longer employed with Noblesville Schools.”
Following McKinney’s, arrest the school corporation released an additional statement.
Student safety is our most important focus and we want you to know what we have done to further our efforts in this area. Last year we brought in outside experts to provide Stewards of Children training which focuses on child sexual abuse and learning how to identify “red flag” behaviors between sexual predators and victims. All Noblesville Schools’ teachers and staff members have now completed this training.
We encourage parents to discuss with their children appropriate adult behavior and to ask children to notify you and the school administration immediately should they see any signs of inappropriate behavior between a staff member and a student. Our school counselors are available as a resource for students or parents who feel they need support regarding this issue.
We have zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior of this nature. It is hurtful to student victims and our community, and detracts from the outstanding, respectable educators we have at Noblesville Schools. We will continue our internal focus on this issue, as nothing is more important than keeping our students safe.