A former public school teacher in Utah was charged Wednesday with forcible sexual abuse over accusations that he touched a teenage student, numerous sources reported.
Eric Snow, 46, allegedly engaged in “grooming behavior” with a 15-year-old female student in February, according to Fox 13. Snow was employed at the Carbon School District between 2011 and April 6, 2021, according to KUTV.
A Carbon High School teacher is facing a charge of forcible sexual abuse after he allegedly slapped a student in the buttocks with a laptop charger.https://t.co/UMvHpj4FSO
— The Salt Lake Tribune (@sltrib) June 2, 2021
Snow allegedly groomed the victim by “complementing (sic) the victim’s outfits, playfully touching her with stacks of paper, telling her she must come see him or her (sic) would be bored, and running his fingers down and through the length of her hair,” a statement of probable cause said, according to KUTV.
Snow was charged after he allegedly “whipped [the victim’s] buttocks with a Chromebook charger” while she was bent over a desk and speaking with another student, KUTV reported.
Snow was an English teacher before voluntarily resigning in April. Forcible sexual abuse is a second-degree felony in Utah, according to Fox 13.
Carbon School District is located in Price, on the east side of the state, roughly 119 miles south of Salt Lake City. District officials told KUTV that they were made aware of the charge Wednesday. The school did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
Numerous teachers have been arrested on sexual misconduct charges, often involving minors.
A former teacher in Alabama was charged in May for allegedly having sex with two underage students. The teacher was found dead in her home days later from an apparent suicide, police said. (RELATED: Authorities Say Teacher Died By Apparent Suicide Days After Being Charged With Rape And Sodomy Of Student)
A former Florida public high school teacher was sentenced to 15 years in prison in May for recording nude videos of 124 students and one teacher as they were changing clothes in his classroom.