CINCINNATI -- One of Three Rivers Local School District’s “most cherished employees" was indicted Tuesday night on six counts of sexual battery involving a student.
Fifty-year-old Kevin Murphy, a 21-year veteran of the district, resigned from his position as teacher and coach at Taylor High School in September after allegations surfaced that he was sexually involved with a student; a Hamilton County grand jury indicted him Tuesday. If convicted of sexual battery -- a third-degree felony -- he could face up to 30 years in prison.
His arrest shook the district, according to superintendent Craig Hockenberry.
"Situations like this are hard to detect anywhere, let alone with your most cherished employees,” Hockenberry said. "We’ve done a lot of reflecting. 'What can we do moving forward? What did we learn from this?'"
Taylor High School has hired a new teacher since Murphy’s resignation, and Hockenberry said students and teachers on campus have gone out of their way to support the victim. The school resource officer was the person who alerted authorities to the abuse, Hockenberry said.
Although the district has worked to move on, mother Amanda Dillon said her family was still shocked. Her daughter had Murphy as a teacher last school year.
"She thought he was the greatest guy,” Dillon said. “She never would’ve believed that."
