Former Albany teacher charged with child molestation - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Former Albany teacher charged with child molestation

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ALBANY, GA (WALB) -

28-year-old Phillip Burns, a finalist for Teacher of the Year last year, was arrested in Columbus Thursday.

Since September he served as an academic coach at a Muscogee County elementary school.

From 2008 until September Burns was a third grade teacher at Lamar Reese Elementary, but no students from that school are involved. Dougherty County School Police received a complaint from the parent of a high school student.

"Saying her child was receiving inappropriate texts from Mr. Burns," said Asst. Dougherty School Police Chief J. C. Phillips. "That initiated an investigation, that led to other students within the school system. Different accounts. One child did make an accusation of physical contact, which resulted in the charges of child molestation and sodomy."

Again, Investigators say the students involved are high school age teenagers, not elementary school students that Burns taught. He is in the Dougherty County jail.

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