An Indiana teacher is facing six felony charges after allegedly having relationships with three female students, two of which were enrolled in special education classes.
Samuel Fies, 33, was arrested Tuesday and charged with multiple counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, child molestation, criminal confinement, child solicitation and attempted child seduction, the Associated Press reports. Fies allegedly developed a relationship with a female student at Highland High School, where he was most recently employed as a teacher, in 2009, when the girl was in seventh grade and under age 14.
According to the affidavit, Fies made the girl sit at the front of his seventh-grade social studies classroom and often found excuses to rub up against her, the Indiana Post-Tribune reports. Fies is accused of molesting her on at least two occasions, one of which occurred while she was locked in an athletic office. Fies served as a coach of the track and cross country team before he was fired in late November on the grounds of misconduct.
Fies reportedly contacted a second student, 13, through a MySpace account and text messages, asking her to do sexually explicit things and send him photos, the Northwest Indiana Times reports. The student told police after a phone conversation that the man she met online sounded like her social studies teacher.
The third alleged victim, a 17-year-old student at Highland High School with emotional and learning disabilities, reported that she met a man on a dating site who asked her sexually-charged questions under a screen name police traced to Fies, according to the Times.
Fies faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence, the Post-Tribune reports. He is awaiting trial in Lake County Jail.