Teacher accused of sexual battery, sending inappropriate pictures
Hahnville High School Principal Ken Oertling alerted authorities to alleged inappropriate contact between a 30-year-old HHS teacher and a 17-year-old student, according to the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Jeremy Eusea, an athletic trainer and educator with Hahnville High School, was arrested Thursday and booked on charges of sexual battery and prohibited sexual conduct between an educator and student.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Pat Yoes said the sexual battery charge is based on suspected inappropriate physical contact “with sexual arousal or gratification.” Yoes said the alleged incident was not violent.
“The principal notified us and we sent out detectives immediately,” Yoes said.
School System spokeswoman Stevie Crevato said the school system will not tolerate these actions and “the district has moved swiftly to take action.”
Crevato added,”The District has and continues to take an aggressive approach to address employee misconduct with students. Due to the recent incidents, we are actively seeking out organizations that have expertise in this area to offer recommendations.”
According to the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, Eusea began inappropriate text messaging conversations with a 17-year-old student in January. The text messages, which occurred during and after school, included inappropriate conversations and pictures, according to police.
Eusea is also charged with allegedly having inappropriate physical contact with the student. His bond was set at $10,000 for the charges (both misdemeanors). He made bail Thursday night and was released.
According to Yoes, Eusea was approached at the school about the incident on Thursday and voluntarily met with detectives that day. He was arrested after that meeting.
An initial statement by the School System states Eusea was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
“As soon as the school system was alerted to the allegations, an investigation was immediately conducted and the Sheriff’s Office was notified,” according to the statement. “The school system has been fully cooperating with the Sheriff’s Office throughout the investigation.”
Crevato added the system has several policies that prohibit inappropriate conduct with students, including electronic communication between employees and students; bullying and harassment; child abuse and neglect, and sexual harassment of and by students.
“Employees are required to understand the policies and procedures and participate in annual training,” she said. “In addition, our hiring process includes a background check, including fingerprinting and a reference check on each employee.”
According to the HHS website, Eusea taught sports medicine and is a certified athletic trainer. He has been a teacher at Hahnville for six years and graduated from Hahnville High School in 2004.
Eusea graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University and received his Masters of Science in Athletic Training from Ohio University and his Doctorate of Athletic Training at the University of Idaho.
The case is still under investigation. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Det. Holly Laurent at (985) 783-1135 or (985) 783-6807.
Earlier this year, 26-year-old Destrehan High School teacher Kimberly Naquin was arrested after she was accused of having sex with a female student.
In 2014, Destrehan High School teachers Shelley Dufresne and Rachel Respess were arrested after they were accused of having sex with a student.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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