A Wake County Public Schools teacher has been arrested on 10 counts of sexual exploitation involving children.

ERIC KYLE BELK

Eric Kyle Belk, age 37, was arrested on Nov. 8 and the arrest warrant shows he is being charged with 10 felony counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

Each charge is a Class E felony carrying a sentence of up to 88 months; a combined total of around 70 years in jail.

Belk was given a $500,000 secured bond and remains in the Wake County Detention Center. His next court date will be at 9 a.m. on Nov. 30.

Per police, none of the victims appear to involve students at the school where Belk teaches.

Knightdale police department arrested Belk at his home.

The arrest was the result of a months-long investigation prompted by a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The investigation was conducted with help from the State Bureau of Investigation.

According to law enforcement, in June of this year, Belk both downloaded and shared videos of girls being sexually abused. The ages of the children ranged from seven to 12.

Belk allegedly “willfully distributed, received, and exchanged” the videos of adult men and women having sex with naked children, per the warrant. The alleged offenses took place June 15.

Belk was a science teacher at Sanderson High School in Wake County and has been suspended according to the district.

Interim principal of Sanderson High School Kevin L. Hill released a statement on Nov. 9 after Belk was arrested:

“To keep you informed, I want to share information about an incident involving a teacher. Eric Belk, a teacher at our school, was arrested last night and charged with second degree sexual exploitation of a minor. We have been informed by law enforcement that the incident under investigation does not appear to involve any of our students, and it did not occur at our school. While privacy laws prevent me from providing much information about the situation, I can share that the teacher has been suspended. I will share more information regarding the situation as soon as I am able.”

Hill also urged anyone with concerns or questions to contact Sanderson High’s office.

Records on file with the state show Belk has an active NC teaching license in the areas of Science 6-9 and Science 9-12. His teaching license was issued on
July 1, 2022, and expires June 30, 2027, unless revoked before that date.

Another teacher who was arrested while working at Sanderson High School was Timothy Bennett. He was arrested in 2016 for having a sexual relationship with a student at South Lenoir High School in Lenoir County during the 2015-16 school year.

When Bennett was arrested, he was working as a Fine Arts teacher at Sanderson High and was apparently still in contact with the Lenoir County student.

According to WNCN, “Lenoir County Sheriff Ronnie Ingram said there was no evidence that Lenoir County Public Schools or South Lenoir High School had knowledge of the incident.”

Bennett was convicted on a charge of crimes against nature and received community service and was paroled as part of a suspended sentence.

The state board of education auto-revoked his North Carolina teaching license.

UPDATES
Belk was convicted on Aug. 9, 2023, on what appears to be one count of second degree sexual exploitation of a minor. He was given a suspended sentence and supervised probation for 60 months.

Belk was also required to register as a sex offender for a minimum period of 10 years.