STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. - A teacher was arrested after he allegedly inappropriately touched a student and tried to entice him through social media.
Henry County Sheriff's Office was notified of the alleged interaction between an orchestra teacher and a student at Woodland High School on Dec. 15, 2017, after the student's mother registered a complaint with the school that a male teacher had inappropriate contact, as well as social media communications with her son.
An officer met with the mother and student at their home where they conducted a detailed interview about each interaction the teacher both had and attempted to have with the student.
The student stated that in September his orchestra teacher, 24-year-old Ryan Harvey, said to him, "You're the only 15-year-old that I would **** with."
The student thought the comment was odd but initially dismissed it, the report said.
Police also stated that the student admitted to being friends with Harvey on Snapchat and that Harvey would send him pictures from time to time, doing ordinary things such as driving.
However, from the beginning of October 2017, the student began receiving pictures from Harvey that only displayed a black screen with a blue heart emoji captioning, "Send Nudes."
The picture was immediately followed by a comment from Harvey stating, "That wasn't for you."
Shortly after, the student received the same black screen and blue heart emoji with the caption, "Send Nudes" but this time, Harvey followed that picture with a message stating, "That WAS for you."
In early October 2017, Harvey would suggest to him that he should stay after school to "do the thing." When asked to clarify what he meant, Harvey would reply with, "You know, the thing."
On October 20, 2017, Harvey heard that the student would somehow be losing his cell phone privileges which prompted an office visit initiated by Harvey.
When they met in Harvey's office, he allegedly asked the student whether or not he had his cell phone with him. The student stated that he did.
"I'm sorry for blocking you on Snapchat," Harvey said according to the student. "I just knew you were getting your phone taken and I didn't want any problems with your mom."
In early November 2017, the student allegedly received a photo from Harvey via Snapchat that depicted Harvey from the thigh up, wearing only pink underwear with a blue or black symbol on them. He was standing in a bathroom with beige or white walls, brown towels and Harvey was taking the photo with a gold iPad Pro.
The student described tattoos that he saw on Harvey which included a solar system with planet going up his left forearm, flower design doing up his right forearm and a third tattoo on his upper right shoulder of a cross.
In mid-November, the student recalls being in Harvey's office to charge his cell phone when Harvey allegedly entered the room and made a comment about his clothing. Harvey then proceeded to physically touch the student inappropriately and then walked back out of the room, the student claims.
The same incident happened again, only this time Harvey and the student were passing by one another when he turned back around and allegedly grabbed the student.
One day, Harvey saw him in the hallway and asked if the student was still in orchestra.
After the student sent an anonymous email to both the principal and a school resources officer about the inappropriate advances on November 4, 2017, and a search warrant was taken out on Harvey.
When an officer arrived to Harvey's residence, which turned out to be his parents' home, they informed the officer that he had left for Albany, Georgia.
The officer then went to search Harvey's room with an attempt to recover the items in the search warrant which included a matte black iPhone 7+, an iPad Pro in gold, a MacBook Air and an HP Pro Book computer issued to him from the Henry County Board of Education. The officer was unable to seize these items and Harvey's parents stated that he probably took them with him on his travels. The officer did, however, observe Harvey's restroom that matched the description given by the student.
Harvey was put on administrative leave and then resigned from his position with the school system.
On Sunday, Jan. 4, 2018, Harvey was arrested for multiple counts including sexual battery, child molestation and enticing a minor for indecent purposes.
It's no surprise that parents are upset to hear what was allegedly happening.
"I heard about it this morning and my first instinct was to worry about the welfare of my son," local parent Darrell Pierce said. "Because if somebody's like that around the school and they're doing what they're doing with children then, you know, my son could have been involved."
The Georgia Professional Standards Commission confirms they do have an open complaint against Harvey. Next, the complaint will go before the commission, as early as this Thursday, where they will vote on whether or not to open an investigation. The commission is the only entity that can revoke a teacher's license.
