Former Evansville preschool teacher charged with molesting second student

EVANSVILLE. A former Evansville preschool teacher convicted in August of molesting a student is back behind bars after prosecutors filed two more child sexual abuse charges against him.

Evansville police arrested 21-year-old Joshua Brandon LeDuc Wednesday night on charges of child molestation, a Level 3 felony and child molestation, a Level 3 felony. Leduc previously taught preschool classes at Bethel United Church of Christ.

Leduc was arrested and charged with two counts of child molestation in August after classroom surveillance cameras caught him sexually abusing a 4-year-old girl, police said. Leduc was on bail in the case when he was arrested on Wednesday, court records show.

The Bethel United Church of Christ fired Leduc on August 2 after becoming aware of the allegation, a spokesperson said in a statement. The Evansville Police Department said Leduc began working at the preschool in November 2020.

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According to EPD detective Cameron Verne, a second student accused Leduc of molestation in February.

In a sworn letter, Verne said the 6-year-old victim attended Bethel Buddies, the church’s preschool, from August 2021 to July 2022. The child reportedly said that Leduc touched her inappropriately while she was putting together a puzzle in his class.

According to the affidavit, the victim identified Leduc in a randomized photo shoot as the person who molested her.

A spokesman for the United Church of Christ at Bethel forwarded questions about Leduc’s latest arrest to the church’s pastor on Thursday.

EPD Representative Sgt. Anna Gray forwarded questions about the case to detectives and said the department could release more information about Leduc’s arrest Thursday afternoon.

The story goes on

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In August, the church told the Vanderburgh County Children’s Department that Leduc had been accused of molesting a student, according to a statement released at the time. EPD took up the investigation and spoke to the victim’s mother about the alleged abuse.

In an affidavit, Verne said he reviewed surveillance footage recorded by a camera in Leduc’s classroom, which appeared to support the first victim’s account. The footage, according to Vern, shows Leduc molesting the victim behind a closet.

Surveillance footage filmed in the hallway of the school also shows Leduc following the victim to the restroom, where he remains with the victim for more than three minutes, Verne writes.

According to court records, Leduc is currently being held at the Vanderburgh County Jail on $100,000 bail. Vanderburgh County Superior Court Judge Robert Pigman set Leduc’s bail during his first court appearance Thursday morning.

Houston Harwood can be contacted at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Former Evansville preschool teacher charged with molesting second student.

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