A first-grade teacher at Aversboro Elementary School in Garner was arrested Thursday and now faces three misdemeanor charges, including child abuse, after warrants allege he was impaired while responsible for a classroom of young children. Eric John Ames, 39, was booked on a $6,000 secured bond and is due in court later this month.
According to CBS17.com, Ames was charged with misdemeanor child abuse, disorderly conduct at a school, and simple possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance identified as marijuana. The marijuana possession charge does not list a specific amount, the outlet reported.
The warrants allege that Ames was under the influence of suspected alcohol and THC while watching over multiple children, and that he was impaired while actively teaching, the station's report states. Those details come directly from the warrants filed in connection with his arrest, per the same account.
Court Date Set for Later This Month
Ames was given a $6,000 secured bond following his arrest and is scheduled to appear in Wake County District Court on Oct. 21, according to the outlet's reporting. No information has surfaced publicly about his employment status with Wake County Public Schools, whether he remains assigned to Aversboro Elementary, or how the district has responded to the arrest.
There is also no public statement yet from Ames, an attorney representing him, or school officials addressing the allegations.
How North Carolina Handles Educator Misconduct
Allegations like these can intersect with the state's separate licensing process for teachers. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction notes that the State Board of Education is responsible for imposing disciplinary sanctions when a professional educator is found to have engaged in professional misconduct, separate from any criminal case moving through the courts. Administrative rules published by the state's Office of Administrative Hearings lay out circumstances considered in such proceedings, including dismissal by a local school board or a misconduct finding by an occupational licensing body. It is not known whether any disciplinary review has been opened in Ames's case.
A Pattern of Classroom Arrests Nationally
Garner's case follows a string of recent arrests of elementary teachers elsewhere in the country. In Florida, a pre-kindergarten teacher at St. Cloud Elementary was arrested after surveillance video allegedly showed her grabbing, dragging and shoving a young student on the playground during recess, according to ClickOrlando.com. That teacher, identified as Kathryn Garcia, was arrested by the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, and school administrators removed her from the classroom and notified the Osceola County School Board the same day the incident was reported. The station noted the student in that case was examined and cleared by the school nurse, and that Garcia told investigators she lifted the child from under his arms but did not recall grabbing his neck.
No such video evidence or detailed account of classroom conduct has been made public in the Garner case. The specific behavior underlying the child abuse and disorderly conduct charges against Ames has not been disclosed beyond what the warrants allege about his alleged impairment.
Ames's next scheduled court appearance, on Oct. 21 in Wake County District Court, will be the first public opportunity to learn how the case proceeds.
