The Mobile County District Attorney's office will recuse itself today from an investigation into whether Causey Middle School mishandled a sexual exposure incident involving a Teacher of the Year and an 11 year old student.
Assistant Chief DA Nicki Patterson tells News Five the case will be forwarded to the Attorney General's office because the principal at the school, Mary Wood, is married to a Circuit Court Judge in Mobile County.
Charles Lewis, 50, was arrested last month on charges that he sexually abused a 9 year old boy. After Lewis' arrest, another allegation surfaced involving an 11 year old student in his classroom.
According to a letter from the student's attorney to school officials, Lewis was changing out of an astronaut costume in a classroom closet when his "semi-erect penis protruded out of his underpants." The 11 year old, who was the only student in the classroom when the incident happened, was removed from Lewis' class at the request of his family and their attorney, Jim Sears.
Dr. Roy Nichols, superintendent of Mobile County Schools, says the school principal investigated the incident and determined it was an accident, but Pat Guyton of the Child Advocacy Center says because the allegation was sexual in nature and involved a teacher, the school was obligated to report it to law enforcement.
Under pressure from multiple news reports, Nichols conducted an internal investigation and determined the Department of Human Resources should have been notified, though he was not planning any disciplinary action.
Guyton's comment prompted to the Mobile Police Department to also conduct an investigation. Investigator's findings were sent to the District Attorney's office, who has decided to forward it to the Attorney General Troy King.
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