A Harnett County Public Schools teacher is facing 95 total charges involving sex crimes with students.

DENNY SHAUN DALTON

Denny Shaun Dalton, who is age 44 according to jail records, was arrested on May 24 on 95 total sex crime charges that include 44 counts of sexual activity with a student, 47 indecent liberties with a student, and four counts of indecent liberties with a child.

Dalton’s overall secured bond total is $970,000. Records show he remains in custody at the Harnett County Detention Center and that his next court date is June 6.

The charges are linked to the alleged abuse of multiple students with at least five of the victims in the age range of 13-16, according to warrant information.

“Denny Dalton was a Teacher at Triton High School at the time of the reported offenses but resigned immediately when confronted by School Officials after they learned of the allegations,” Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats wrote in a statement on Facebook. “School Officials contacted the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office in reference to allegations. Investigation revealed multiple students reported the above offenses to have occurred at the school, during regular school hours.”

“While we cannot legally disclose all of the information available to the school district, the school district takes matters such as this extremely seriously, conducting thorough investigations and providing reports and information to law enforcement as appropriate,” Harnett County Public Schools said in a statement.

The statement continued, “Student safety is our highest priority. Employees are screened before being hired, a process that includes criminal background checks and reference checks. Harnett County Schools has and will continue to cooperate fully with investigators, and further questions regarding the criminal investigation will need to be directed to law enforcement.”

The district confirmed Dalton was hired on Aug. 9, 2021, and that he resigned on April 26, 2023. The district did not indicate whether or not Dalton gave the required 30 days notice when resigning or if the district knew of the allegations at the time of his resignation.

The district has already scrubbed Dalton from its websites, including Triton high school where he was on the team for the school’s “Exceptional Children
Department.” Cached pages of the school’s website show Dalton working with the school’s robotics team.

Dalton does have a teaching license on file with the state in the area of Exceptional Children: General Curriculum (K-12). The license was issued on Aug. 16, 2021, and will expire on June 30 of this year.