Georgia authorities say a Murray County school administrator has been arrested and charged with sexual offenses against a student.
Dr. Rachelle Terry, 43, is charged with child molestation and statutory rape and has also been charged with 10 counts of providing alcohol to minors during a Halloween party earlier this year, the Office of Georgia Research.
Terry is the Director of Enrollment, Data Collection and Federal Programs for the Murray County School System. The Dalton Daily Citizen reported that an investigation leading to his arrest began Nov. 9, when Sheriff Jimmy Davenport received a complaint about minors receiving 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, and we ultimately indicted the charges of providing alcohol to a minor (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 provided to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and asked them to follow up on, which led to additional charges of statutory rape and child molestation,” Poston said.
The GBI said in a press release that it had received the request from the district attorney on November 23.
The researchers declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
Terry was booked into the Murray County Detention Center on November 30, according to jail records.
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Terry and his 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 school district told FOX Chattanooga that they were “shocked and saddened” to learn of the criminal charges filed against Terry.
“These are extremely serious charges. The safety and well-being of our students is always a top priority for Murray County Schools,” the spokesperson said.
