ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — A former substitute teacher and candidate for school board in Rowan County is facing charges for misconduct with a student.
Michael Chapman, 68, faces one charge in Rowan County of indecent liberties with a student. He appeared in court on Tuesday and has a next court date of Oct. 28, according to court records.
Chapman was a substitute teacher at Faith Academy Charter School in Faith, N.C. The school received a report of misconduct from a student about Chapman in May and he was immediately released, according to the school.
"Our school staff and Board of Directors will not tolerate misconduct of staff members or students," a Faith Academy spokesperson said in a statement. "A report was made to the Rowan County Sheriff's department to investigate the alleged incident."
Faith Academy officials turned the case over to the Rowan County Sheriff's Office for further investigation.
The Rowan County Sheriff's Office says a 14-year-old alleges Chapman touched them in a sexual manner. The report was presented to the Rowan County District Attorney's Office and a criminal charge was made against the school employee.
Chapman who was arrested was given a $75,000 secured bond which he posted.
Chapman tells WCNC he is innocent but that he cannot go into many details. However, he said he was in an open classroom with about 20 kids and he did not commit the crime he is accused of.
Chapman is a familiar face in Rowan County. He ran for a school board seat with the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education in 2022 but finished last in the three-person race with just 25.7% of the votes. Mr. Chapman was also employed by the Rowan-Salisbury School System for six months in 2021 as a bus driver.
Chapman has a court date scheduled for October 28.