A now-former Wake County Public Schools teacher was recently arrested on sex crime charges involving a student.

ALMANDO KILPATRICK BROWN

Almando Kilpatrick Brown, age 27, was arrested on Mar. 20 by the Knightdale Police Department and was charged with attempting a sex act with a student and indecent liberties with a student.

At a hearing on Mar. 21, Brown’s attorney Christopher Detwiler asked the judge to reduce the $50,000 secured bond assigned to his client down to $15,000.

The attorney told the judge that his client said he is innocent and that because Brown has a newborn at home, he was therefore not a flight risk.

The judge denied the bond decrease request.

Brown’s charges are the two targeted for penalty increases by a General Assembly House bill.

Rep. John Torbett (R-Gaston) filed House Bill 142 last month. The bill raises penalties for sex with a student and indecent liberties with a student from Class I felonies to Class G felonies.  The bill also makes it a Class I felony for failing to report teacher misconduct within five days of “dismissal, determination of disciplinary action, or acceptance of resignation.

Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School’s Principal George E. Harden Jr. issued a statement to parents:

Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School Parents/Guardians,

To keep you informed, I want to share information about an incident involving a former teacher.

We learned today that former teacher, Almando Brown, has been arrested and charged with solicitation of a minor and attempted sexual offense with a student.

While privacy laws prevent me from providing much information about the situation, I can share that the teacher has resigned, and he will not be returning to our campus or any other WCPSS school at this time.

Our employees are held to the highest standards. The district does not tolerate actions that are not aligned with these standards.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact our front office at 919-856-2800. Thank you for your continued support of our school.

Brown worked as a teacher at the school since Dec.13, 2021. Brown apparently resigned and his employment with the district ended on Mar. 17.

It’s unclear if his resignation fell within the 30-day window required in state statute, however, given the criminal charges involved, WCPSS’ superintendent is required to report the resignation to the N.C. State Board of Education and N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

State statute also says that the superintendent may also “request that the State Board of Education revoke the teacher’s license for the remainder of the school year.

Brown has a “permit to teach” on file with the state that was issued on July 18, 2022. Unless revoked, that permit will expire on June 30 of this year.