Two Georgia educators have resigned after an investigation confirmed claims of sexual misconduct at school.
On at least one occasion, Dr. Principal Dana Simmons had sex with gym teacher Dylan Charles in a bathroom near her office at Banks County Elementary School, district officials said.
Administrators pointed to photos and video of their on-campus rendezvous, and both educators acknowledged having sexual relations, according to a report.
The extramarital affair, which Simmons’ called an “inappropriate friendship,” was the subject of an independent investigation requested by the Banks County Board of Education last month. On Jan. 27, Superintendent Dr. Ann Hopkins announced that Charles and Simmons were “no longer teaching” at the school.
“Any issues concerning unethical conduct are thoroughly investigated, addressed accordingly, and reported to the Professional Standards Commission as necessary,” Hopkins said in a statement. “The safety and well-being of our students is always our first priority.”
Affair lasted ‘several years’
A six-page report, released Jan. 27, detailed the affair between Charles and Simmons. An investigation was launched after Simmons accused Charles of bugging her office and being privy to Board of Education information he was not entitled to, officials wrote.
Charles spoke with administrators and admitted he’d had a sexual relationship with the school principal for “several years,” the report states.
During the meeting, he provided officials with intimate photos that showed him and Simmons kissing. Another picture showed a naked woman in a room “identified as the bathroom adjacent to Dr. Simmons’s office at Banks County Elementary School.”
The gym teacher alleged he and Simmons “routinely” used the school to have sex — a claim Simmons denied, according to the report.
Principal was ’manipulating’
Simmons, who was in her third year as school principal, acknowledged her affair with Charles and said his wife, a fellow teacher, would arrange and film the sex acts between Simmons and her husband.
“Dr. Simmons also stated [the wife] watched as she and her husband had sexual relations,” according to the report.
Administrators also spoke with Charles’s wife, who was aware of the affair and said Simmons manipulated “both her and her husband.” She also said the principal “pressured her to allow her to have sex with her husband” in exchange for helping advance their careers.
‘Should have never happened’
A former paraprofessional at the school said Simmons once approached her about joining a “group of swingers,” but she declined, the report states. The teacher eventually left the district because she felt Simmons’s behavior was “unprofessional,” officials wrote.
Investigators concluded there was enough evidence Simmons and Charles had an inappropriate relationship that included sex on campus at least once.
“It should have never happened,” Verdaillia Turner, president of the Georgia Federation of Teachers, told WAGA. “It shows poor judgment, it shows a lack of good character, and it also shows a lack of respect for the taxpayer’s property.”
Both educators have resigned and are no longer listed on the school’s website.
Homer is about 75 miles northeast of Atlanta.
This story was originally published February 8, 2023, 1:10 PM.
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Tanasia is a national Real-Time reporter based in Atlanta covering news across Georgia, Mississippi and the Southeast. Her sub-beat is retail and consumer news. She’s an alumna of Kennesaw State University and joined McClatchy in 2020.
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