Teacher faces sex, porn charges

The marching band director at Adams Central High School turned himself in to police Thursday after an investigation concluded he had sex with a 17-year-old student. Jeremey J. Johnson, 26, of Bluffton, walked into the Wells County Jail sometime before noon.

Bluffton Chief of Police Tammy L. Schaffer said Johnson had sex with the girl at his home in Bluffton and fondled and touched her at the high school. Adams Central Community Schools Superintendent Michael Pettibone would not say whether the girl was a member of the band but did say she was no longer at the school.

Investigators also found more than 500 digital images of child pornography downloaded to Johnson's home computer over a period of more than one year, a Bluffton Police Department report said. Investigators seized both his school and home computers and charged him with 41 counts of possession of child pornography.

Johnson also has been charged with seven counts of child seduction in Wells County for the alleged incidents at his home with the girl and 19 counts of child seduction in Adams County for the incidents at the school. He was being held Thursday in Wells County Jail on $240,000 bond. To bond out, he would also have to pay a $95,000 bond held for him at the Adams County Jail, Schaffer said.

School officials found out the relationship after the girl's mother notified them, Schaffer said. They then went to the police. Their investigation began this summer, and Johnson was suspended before school or marching band practice started. He has not been on school property since, Pettibone said. In accordance with state law, Johnson was suspended with pay. He could be fired depending on the outcome of the case, Pettibone said.

"In terminating someone, whether because they're a bad teacher or an immoral person, the rules are the same," he said.

Johnson taught instrumental music at both the high school and middle school for two years. A licensed instrumental instructor has been brought in to take over the marching band, and parents and students were notified why Johnson would be absent.

"It's our season ... and our kids shouldn't be stopped from enjoying (marching band)," Pettibone said. "Is there some disruption in our program? Sure there is, but our kids will still be able to have this program."

Johnson's job at Adams Central was his first after graduating from Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion. Adams Central officials called all of his references and ran an Indiana State Police criminal background check on him, Pettibone said. Nothing came up.

"Sure, we're surprised. Sure, we're disappointed," Pettibone said. "At the same time, that cannot stop us from realizing the many good people working hard and accomplishing good things here."