Former Abbotsford Math Teacher Appears in Clark County Court for Sexual Assault Charges
Thursday, May 22nd, 2014 -- 11:40 AM
-A former Abbotsford teacher that had a sexual relationship with some of his female students appeared in Clark County Court Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing.Back in January, the Abbotsford Police Department began an investigation into allegations that 25-year-old Andy Follen had an inappropriate relationship with some of his female students. Follen had resigned from the school district just prior to the beginning of the investigation after the district had told him he had violated their policy about teachers communicating with students electronically. An officer interviewed two female students that admitted they had engaged in sexual activities with Follen, after an investigation by the district, when it was brought to their attention by the mother of one of the victims.
A preliminary hearing was held for the case regarding the sexual assault charges, but not for the case that includes bail jumping and witness tampering charges which Follen received after he violated terms of his bond for the first set of charges and contacted one of the victims in the matter.
During the preliminary hearing, District Attorney Lyndsey Boon-Brunette interviewed Officer Jason Bauer with the Colby-Abby Police Department to determine how the incident was discovered and what the victims told him about the incident with Follen.
Follen?s attorney, John Stichert, insisted there was no physical evidence, like DNA, video, witnesses, etc., and the test messages may not have even existed. He also questioned why the victims admitted to the crime when, in the beginning, they denied it multiple times.
In the end, Judge John Counsell felt the state proved probable cause and the court proceedings will continue.
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