MANTEO, N.C. (WVEC) -- A teacher, now facing a sex crimes charge, could have had access to your children while under investigation by the state.
13News Now was first to report Ryan Garrott was indicted by a North Carolina grand jury last week. It turns out that even after the school system found out about the allegations, it listed Garrott as a tutor.
Each year, Dare County Schools puts out a tutor directory. It is a list of teachers available to tutor children outside of the normal school day. Up until we called the superintendent, we were able to find the man accused of having sex with a student listed in an online version of that directory.
A document from the North Carolina State Board of Education lists the disturbing details on then-teacher Ryan Garrott discovered by Dare County Schools. They are specifics reportedly admitted by Garrott in an interview with a state ethics committee.
It says in June there were rumors the Manteo High School special education teacher and a female student "had been seen drinking at a local bar together and had 'hooked up.'" The record shows Garrott acknowledged he had been drinking a lot on the night in question, and admitted to seeing the student. He told school leaders the girl used a fake ID to buy him a drink and he kissed her at the bar.
As for what happened next, we don't know. According to the document, Garrott says the student called for a cab and the two left in it, but it says when questioned about what happened next, "Mr. Garrott refused to answer."
The indictment Garrott is facing does give us more information: he is charged with having sex with a student.
Based on everything officials learned, the state permanently revoked Garrott's teaching license in November, almost six months after the school first got wind of the accusations.
The news shocked parents.
"There were definitely some lines that were crossed," reacted Savannah Brill, whose daughter will go through Manteo schools. "That would definitely be something that I would be afraid of for my daughter."
This all began during last school year, the one that ended in June of 2015. Even though he resigned from the school at the end of the 2014-2015 school year while officials investigated the possible sex crime, Ryan Garrott's name was listed as someone you could call to help your child for the current school year. He is also one of the cheaper options.
In fact, even as we broke the story of Garrott's indictment -- seven months after the school was first notified -- he was still listed on the Manteo High School website and the tutor directory.
"If people didn't know about it and somebody's parents decides, 'Oh, my kid needs extra help and tutoring,' and they pick this person, it could be detrimental for a child, for another girl," Brill added.
We wanted to know exactly why something like this fell through the cracks of Dare County Schools. Turns out the superintendent didn't know the information was there until 13News Now brought it to her attention.
Dr. Sue Burgess says right after she heard from us, she had the directory taken down. She explains our investigation is a lesson learned.
Burgess issued the following statement:
"This is an extremely rare situation. The Tutor Directory was not maintained by the Human Resources Department. We have now put in place a process to ensure that the Human Resources Department will review all names on the Tutor Directory on a monthly basis."
We also asked the superintendent if she has any idea whether or not a parent might have contacted Garrott for tutoring services during the months his number was listed. She says she will now talk to the Manteo principal about what he's heard.
As for Garrott's criminal case, the district attorney tells us Garrott is currently out of the country and will either come back to the states on his own, or the office will begin the extradition process.
