Community speaks out about Aliceville school faculty arrested
ALICEVILLE, Ala. (WCBI) – Parents are outraged in Pickens County.
So far, four teachers from the school district have been arrested on a variety of charges.
“It’s appalling… I never would’ve thought in such a small town that this would be the result,” said Yvonne Oliver, a concerned grandparent.
Yvonne Oliver is a Grandparent to students at Aliceville High School.
Three faculty members from the high school and one from Aliceville Elementary School have been arrested in the past three weeks.
“This is uncalled for,” said Oliver.
District Attorney Andy Hamlin said all are facing charges related to child sexual abuse material.
Concerned parents, grandparents and community members attended the school district’s board meeting on Wednesday.
“We do have great teachers across the district and sometimes everybody focuses on the dot…but around the dot, it’s a lot of great things happening. I do want to continue to press forward and create a great environment for our kids … a great opportunity as we go to the end of the school year,” said Pickens County Schools Superintendent of Education Shawn McDaniel
The superintendent said the district will be providing mental health services for both faculty and students.
He said they now have to fill the gaps and finish the school year.
“We’re going to restaff immediately. We’re bringing out retired teachers that have degrees and certified teaching that we can get back involved,” said McDaniel.But before a person can work for the school district, they must apply and go through an onboarding process “which does require them to follow background checks by the state and make sure they are within field in certification areas,” said McDaniel.
On Tuesday, another person was arrested from Pickens County for child-related sex crimes.
The suspect, Caminion Gary is an Aliceville Police officer.
“This shows that Aliceville believes in if you see something, bring it to us and we’ll make sure that it gets taken care of. I think that this is a testament to how it doesn’t matter how close it hits to home, we’re willing to do the hard work and bring those victims justice,” said Aliceville Mayor Terrence Windham.
“We are asking all that can, that believe in prayer to pray, because there are a lot of victims, there are a lot of victims…Pray and continue to pray for all law enforcement. They are dealing with this as well,” said Aliceville Chief of Police Tonnie Jones.
The District Attorney’s Office and Aliceville Police are working with the State Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security on these cases.
All arrested are still in the Pickens County Jail.
Aliceville is having a prayer walk on Saturday to help the community in this time.
The walk will start at 4 p.m. at 4019 Memorial Parkway in Aliceville.
