Georgia authorities say a Murray County school administrator has been arrested and charged with sex crimes against a student.
Dr. Rachelle Terry, 43, is accused of child molestation and statutory rape and has also been charged on 10 counts of providing alcohol to minors during a Halloween party earlier this year, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Thursday.
Terry is the Murray County School system’s director of Enrollment, Data Collections, and Federal Programs. The Dalton Daily Citizen reported that an investigation that led to her arrest began on Nov. 9, when Sheriff Jimmy Davenport received a complaint about minors being provided alcohol at a Halloween party.
Davenport reportedly requested that the Murray County District Attorney’s office take over the investigation because the sheriff’s office provides school resource officers to the district and wanted to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
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Dr. Rachelle Louise Terry, 43, is accused of having a sexual relationship with a student and has been charged with child molestation and statutory rape.
(Murray County Sheriff’s Office)
Murray County Public Schools building (Google Maps)
(Google Maps)
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“We did so and ultimately took charges of furnishing alcohol to minors (5 counts) and contributing to the delinquency of a minor (5 counts),” District Attorney Bert Poston told Fox News.
“During the course of that investigation, information came to light that we turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations and asked them to follow up on, which led to the additional charges of statutory rape and child molestation,” Poston said.
The GBI said in a press statement that it had received the district attorney’s request on Nov. 23.
Investigators declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
Terry was booked in the Murray County Detention Center on Nov. 30, according to jail records.
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Terry and her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Murray County Schools also did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
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A spokesperson for the shool district told FOX Chattanooga they were “shocked and saddened” to hear of the criminal charges filed against Terry.
“These are extremely serious charges. The safety and well-being of our students are always a top priority for Murray County Schools,” the spokesperson said.
