A former school counselor who worked in both Randolph County Public Schools and Asheboro City Schools districts has been arrested on multiple sex crime charges.

ADAM DAVID DUNCAN

Adam David Duncan, age 38, was arrested on June 24 on two counts of felony indecent liberties with a minor and two counts of felony first degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

The indecent liberties charge is a Class F felony that carries a sentence of 10 to 41 months per count. The first degree sexual exploitation of a minor charge is a Class C felony with a prison sentence of 44 to 182 months per instance.

The Randolph County Sheriffs’ Office says more charges may be coming as the investigation is still ongoing.

Duncan was issued a $200,000 bond which he posted within 24 hours and was released.

Per a press release, the Randolph County Sheriffs’ Office says a report of sexual offense allegations against Duncan came into their office on May 29. An investigation led to the issuance of warrants for Duncan which were executed on June 24 by the Randolph County Criminal Apprehension Team and he was taken into custody.

Duncan’s first court appearance will be on June 27, 2022, in Randolph County District Court.

Randolph News Now reports that Duncan had worked for Randolph County Public Schools at three different schools between August 2012 and June 2021.

Randolph News Now also reported that Duncan was working in the Asheboro City Schools district, which is also located in Randolph County, but resigned on May 31 after the crime allegations became public.

It was at first unclear if Duncan gave 30-days’ notice, however, Asheboro City Schools has confirmed he did not do so. The district also confirmed a background check was performed on Duncan.

Asheboro City Schools also confirmed Duncan’s date of hire as 12/13/2021 and his last date of employment as 5/27/22. His salary at the time of hire was $4800 per month and his salary on last date of employment was the same.

It is unknown if Asheboro City Schools has reported Duncan’s resignation to the N.C. State Board of Education as required by state statute.

In Randolph County Public Schools, Duncan worked at Wheatmore High School, Liberty Elementary School, and Randleman Middle School. It is unclear what school Duncan was working at when he resigned this past May.

“Officials with both school systems were not able to say if Duncan resigned rather than being fired, or provide anything beyond dates of employment, saying those records are a personnel matter and not subject to public release,” Randolph News Now’s report says.

The report also contains screenshots of text messages between Duncan and students.

FOX 8 reported that “Court documents accuse Duncan of taking pictures and videos of a girl between six and seven years old while she was naked in the bathtub” and “at one point in the video, the little girl asked Duncan if he was sending the videos to her mother.

“Documents also show he committed lewd acts with the girl multiple times,” FOX 8 reported.

Public records and personnel file law in North Carolina do not prohibit an employer such as a school district from disclosing whether an employee resigned or was fired.

This website has reached out to Randolph County Public Schools for comment, verification of Duncan’s employment, and has also asked the district to confirm his background check status. A similar request is being sent to Asheboro City Schools.

Randolph County Public Schools Public Information Officer Tim Moody responded in an email confirming Duncan’s date of hire as 8/15/2012 and last date of employment as 6/4/2021. Duncan’s salary at the time of hire was $31,220 and his salary had increased to $48,000 by his last day of employment.

Also confirmed by Moody were the schools he was assigned to and the dates of those assignments.

“Mr. Duncan was at Wheatmore High School from 8/15/2012 to 8/18/2019. He transferred to Liberty Elementary School on 8/19/2019 and was there until 8/9/2020. He transferred to Randleman Middle School on 8/10/2020 and was there until his resignation from the Randolph County School System on 6/4/2021,” Moody wrote in an email response.

When asked if Duncan’s resignation was given with the 30 days’ required notice, Moody wrote that “This information is not a public record under N.C.G.S. 115C-320. Please refer to Policy Code: 7900 Resignation for information on resignations.”

When questioned about the 3o-day resignation status arguably not being a protected record, Moody responded by saying that “Your inquiry regarding Mr. Duncan’s resignation does not pertain to a public record. Mr. Duncan resigned effective 6/4/21, at the end of the 2020-2021 school year.”

Moody also did not provide confirmation if a background check had been performed and wrote that “This information is not a public record under N.C.G.S. 115C-320. Please refer to Policy Code: 7100 Recruitment and Selection of Personnel for information on background checks.”  In a follow-up email, Moody said that “The Randolph County School System conducts background checks on all employees upon hire.”

According to records on file with the state, Duncan has an active teaching license in the areas of Mathematics 6-9, Mathematics 9-12, Health and Physical Education, and School Counselor.  His license is set to expire on June 30 of this year.