Picayune Memorial High School teacher arrested for inappropriate sexual contact with students
PICAYUNE, MS May 6 2017
A high school teacher in Mississippi is facing charges of having inappropriate sexual contact with students.
Local news outlets report 48-year-old Steven Todd Hardin was taken to a correctional center in Pearl River County on Thursday after a grand jury indicted him on six counts of sexual battery of a minor.
Police say the charges stem from his time as a teacher at Picayune Memorial High School.
Authorities arrested Hardin on Wednesday at a high school in Lauderdale County where he now trains children in the Navy Junior ROTC program.
A statement from Picayune Police Chief Bryan Dawsey said in part,
“Mr. Hardin is a person who was in a position of authority and abused his authority when it came to his alleged sexual conduct with students. I cannot go into any details involving this investigation due to the fact that this is still an active and ongoing investigation….an alleged sexual predator has been removed from the schools and the streets of our cities and this state. In today’s society we are seeing too many times where teachers are having sexual contact with children. The Picayune Police Department is determined to remove these sexual predators from our city. We fully expect to prosecute Mr. Hardin to the fullest extent of the law.”
Superintendents of school districts in both counties said they could not comment on the matter.
wlox
