Police: York high school band director arrested for 2012 sex act with Anderson student
The band director at a York County high school was charged Tuesday with sexual battery against a female student in 2012 while he was a teacher in Anderson County, officials said.
Douglas William Brooks, 48, is charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to arrest warrants from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.
Brooks is currently the band director at York Comprehensive High School in the York school district.
Brooks was a teacher at Belton-Honea Path High School and a middle school in 2012 when he had improper and illegal sexual contact with the student, according to the warrant.
Brooks “used aggravated coercion” while in a position of “official authority” to coerce the victim to submit to sex acts, the warrant states.
A conviction for second-degree criminal sexual conduct carries up to 20 years in a South Carolina prison, state law shows.
Brooks was arrested Tuesday and remains in the Anderson County jail pending a bond hearing set for 4 p.m. Tuesday, said Sgt. J.T. Foster of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.
The accuser was a juvenile at the time of the allegations, Foster said.
The criminal investigation remains ongoing, Foster said.
An incident report was filed by the alleged victim Dec. 30, 2019 in Anderson County, police reports show. The sexual assault is alleged to have happened on the high school campus during school hours in the spring of 2012, according to the sheriff’s office incident report from Anderson County.
York Police Department officials said their agency was made aware of the investigation by Anderson deputies, but are not involved in the pending Anderson County case.
Brooks was placed on administrative leave Jan. 16 by the York school district after district officials learned from law enforcement of the allegations related to the 2012 incident, said Tim Cooper, spokesman for the school district.
Brooks was hired later in 2012 as band director at York Comprehensive High School, Cooper said.
Brooks was vetted by school officials before he was hired, Cooper said. The school district did a a State Law Enforcement Division background check on Brooks as it does on all prospective teachers, Cooper said. The SLED check showed Brooks had no criminal record in 2012, Cooper said.
“Mr. Brooks was employed by York School District One in July 2012 and has served as band director at the high school since that time. In accordance with District policy and procedure, before Mr. Brooks was hired in 2012, York One staff spoke with his references, including his principal at Belton-Honea Path High School,” Cooper said in a written statement. “His references were positive, with no indication of any concern about Mr. Brooks’ relationships and interactions with students.”
Cooper also said in a statement that there have been no allegations in York about Brooks with students.
“During Mr. Brooks’ tenure in York One, no student or parent has reported any inappropriate conduct by him,” reads the statement.
School officials in York are continuing to investigate, Cooper said.
Brooks was hired in York in 2012 after band director jobs in Anderson, Williamston, Union and Kershaw counties, York school officials said in 2012. Brooks is a Winthrop University graduate, according to the York school district.
Check back for updates.
This story was originally published January 28, 2020 at 11:39 AM.
