Two former private Christian school teachers in Georgia are facing multiple felony charges in connection with accusations that they both had illicit relationships with the same student.
Bonnie Elizabeth Brown — a 25-year-old ex-teacher from White Plains — was arrested Friday and charged with improper sexual contact by an employee, agent, or foster parent.
‘My school did not protect me as a child.’
The Athens Banner-Herald reported that “Brown, a graduate of Nathanael Greene Academy and the school’s 2016 homecoming queen, has been released from jail on a $50,000 bond.”
Sherri Delle Mauldin — a 60-year-old from Buckhead — was arrested Monday and charged with statutory rape, aggravated child molestation, and improper sexual contact by an employee, agent, or foster parent.
Both suspects were booked at the Greene County Sheriff’s Office Jail.
The suspects formerly worked at the Nathanael Greene Academy, which is roughly 90 miles southeast of Atlanta. The school teaches kindergarteners through 12th-graders. According to U.S. News & World Report, the school has a student population of 85; the tuition allegedly is as much as $6,350.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement, “On June 14, 2024, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office asked the GBI to investigate allegations of sexual contact between a student and a former Nathanael Greene Academy teacher in Siloam, Georgia.”
The GBI declared that the investigation “confirmed” that Brown engaged in illegal sexual contact with a student when she was a teacher at the Nathanael Greene Academy.
At the time of her arrest, Brown was a teacher at a primary school in neighboring Wilkes County.
The GBI investigation into Mauldin revealed that the former Nathanael Greene Academy teacher engaged in improper sexual contact with a student.
The GBI noted that the investigation remains active and ongoing.
‘These women took advantage of their positions as my teachers.’
The alleged victim’s lawyer, Ashley Mitchell, told the Banner-Herald that the sex abuse happened both on and off campus.
The paper reported, “The two former teachers charged recently with having sexual relations with a student at a private Christian school in Greene County allegedly knew that each other was involved with the same student, a lawyer for the victim said Tuesday.”
The lawyer said other students at the school exposed the alleged teacher sex scandal.
“There were students who had knowledge,” Mitchell stated. “There was a situation where students were reporting it to their family, and it eventually made its way to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.”
Greene County Sheriff Donnie Harrison on Monday said that upon receiving the complaint, he forwarded it to the GBI.
Mitchell said complaints were provided to the school administration.
“Their claim is they investigated it and found no wrongdoing,” Mitchell said of the Nathanael Greene Academy administrators.
Mitchell added, “The GBI and law enforcement have done a thorough and diligent job. None of this was a hasty process.”
Mitchell alleged that school officials previously cited one of the teachers for inappropriate conduct with the student but did not name which teacher.
Mitchell hinted that there could be more victims as well as more suspects.
“There is information to suggest that potentially other teachers may have been involved with other victims,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell added, “It’s the classic case of predators having access to children and not much oversight.”
The anonymous accuser said in a statement obtained by WXIA-TV: “I’m relieved that these two women have been arrested, and the crimes are being fully investigated.”
“These women took advantage of their positions as my teachers. My school did not protect me as a child,” the alleged victim said. “I see that now, and I hope that these arrests will protect our community and children in it.”
On Monday, Wilkes County Schools said in a statement that school officials were not aware of Brown’s arrest until after she was taken into custody. The school system confirmed that the school as of Monday no longer employed Brown.
The Wilkes County School System said that it is “fully prepared to cooperate” with the GBI in its investigation into the child sex abuse allegations.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Greene County Sheriff’s Office at 706-453-3351 or the GBI regional investigative office in Milledgeville at 478-445-4173.
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Arrests, Bad teacher, Child sex abuse, Christian school, Crime, Georgia, Nathanael greene academy, Teacher arrested, Teacher sex scandal, Teacher student sex scandal
