25-year-old John Austin Hopkins — assistant swimming coach at school Ohio, is accused of 36 cases of gross sexual assault against 28 first-graders.
Hopkins first brought to light on March 8, when one of the fathers of Schoolgirls met with the Director of Clearcreek Elementary School in Elyria (Oh).
«When the parents asked his daughter how the day went, she said it was a great day, because it was her turn to sit on the lap of Mr. Hopkins,» said PEOPLE Scott Marshall, communications coordinator in the school district Sunbury.
The school administration checked the records from surveillance cameras and saw that the girl actually sat on the lap of the teacher.
«In a few minutes John Hopkins of Austin was taken out of class, and we handed him over to the police Department, Sunbury,» says Marshall.
March 12, Hopkins resigned.
John Austin Hopkins. Source: WARREN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
At a press conference on Monday, June 17, the Warren County Prosecutor David P. Fornshell said that the authorities examined records from surveillance cameras during the period from December 2018 to March 2019.
They are seen as the Hopkins planted «many of the girls on my lap… in a sexual manner.» In addition, the assistant coach touched children, pushing his hands under the skirt and the shirt.
Fornshell stressed that Hopkins was manipulated the first-year girls so that they «even fought for his attention.» According to the Prosecutor, the defendant told a girl that he would marry her when she got older.
Hopkins pleaded not guilty. He was granted bail in the amount of $500 thousand.
By order of judge Robert Peeler, the defendant will be in the house of his family while awaiting trial. He will not be allowed to minors.
All 36 of the charges are felonies of the third degree, each of which implies a maximum 5-year term.
