FROM STAFF REPORTS

NORTH SHELBY — Jeffrey Scott Atkins, a teacher and band director at Oak Mountain Middle School, has been arrested for and charged with allegedly having inappropriate contact with a student.

The Shelby County Board of Education contacted the Alabama Department of Human Resources and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to request assistance with an investigation of possible inappropriate contact between a teacher at Oak Mountain Middle School and a student, according to a press release from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators alleged that communication between Atkins and the student using phone texts and social media outlets was sexual in nature. Investigators then attempted to find the teacher for questioning on Wednesday.

Atkins was located and detained in Montgomery County early Thursday morning.

The 38-year-old Alabaster resident was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, one count of enticing a child for immoral purposes, one count of electronic solicitation of a child and one count of a school employee having sexual contact with a student under the age of 19.

He remains in the Shelby County Jail with bonds totaling $555,000.

“This case, while still under investigation, reaffirms how carefully we have to guard our children and protect them from the perils of this world,” said Sheriff Chris Curry.

Atkins has been employed with the Shelby County School District since 1999, serving his entire tenure at Oak Mountain Middle School. District officials said he passed a criminal background check in October 1999 and has had no prior incidents of misconduct.

“The charges against Mr. Atkins are allegations at this point,” said Superintendent Randy Fuller in a press release. “However, the allegations are of the upmost gravity in that they implicate unprofessional conduct by a teacher towards a student.”

Anyone with information about this crime is urged to contact the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office directly at 669-4181, through the Secret Witness line at 669-9116 or through our website at ShelbySO.com.