Court records reveal identity of Marietta teacher accused of assault

(Court Reports – Photo Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)

MARIETTA — The identity of the Marietta City Schools teacher facing the charges and the nature of the charges have been revealed, according to police records.

Christopher Joseph VanReeth, who is 36, according to Marietta Municipal Court records, and lives at 107 Meadow Lane, Marietta, is listed in a Marietta Police Department affidavit supporting probable cause for the issuance of a summons as teacher accused of assault.

VanReeth faces one count of first-degree assault, according to court records.

He is listed as Marietta High School’s intervention specialist on the district’s website, and Ohio Department of Education records show he was granted a five-year professional license in July 2022 as a K-12 intervention specialist for the educational areas of “mild/moderate.”

Records also show he teaches science 7-8 and math 7-8 at Marietta High School.

The mention of a Marietta City Schools teacher facing allegations was first made in a Thursday post on the district’s Facebook page by interim Superintendent Alison Woods.

“We are aware of the allegations against one of our employees and are taking the situation very seriously,” the spokesperson said. she said in the post.

The district made no public statement at the time the allegations were made, out of respect for and in accordance with the law enforcement investigation process, and sent the teacher home, instructed them to have no contact with students at all, and banned them from to be at school. school property, the post said.

The Marietta Police Department received a forwarded email from Marietta High School Interim Principal Tim Fleming on Oct. 4. It originally came from the mother of a male student at the high school, according to the affidavit.

In the email, the mother stated that her son came home on Oct. 4 and told her about an incident that occurred in his third class with VanReeth, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states the child was counseled “He had his head down during class when Mr. VanReeth grabbed the hood of his hoodie and pulled his head off the desk.”

The affidavit also states that the mother said her child had red marks on his neck when he came home and she took pictures of them and requested a meeting with school authorities and police regarding the incident.

The mother took the youth to the hospital on Oct. 4 and handed over medical documents from the visit to police, the affidavit said.

The officer who investigated the incident stated this after reading the medical documents “(The young person) had a CT scan made and the prognosis was acute tension of the neck muscle.”

The officer stated in the affidavit that the email was forwarded to VanReeth and he responded in an email he sent to Marietta Assistant High School Principal Mary Yeater and the officer added VanReeth’s email to the file.

The officer said in the email that VanReeth stated he went to each student to make sure they completed their assignment and when he reached the youngster he found him sleeping, which VanReeth said was common for science and the most other lessons.

“VanReeth advised that he begin to encourage (the youth) to wake him up so that he could begin his daily task and he would not wake up again,” the statement said. “At that point, VanReeth used his elbow to push and tap (the boy) on his back, and then he began pulling on the back of his sweatshirt. After a minute or two of trying to wake (the boy), he finally woke up.”

The affidavit stated that VanReeth said that after numerous conversations with the youngster about sleeping in class, he told him that if he did not start his assignment, he would have to work on it for a few days during lunch, insinuating that the youngster would spend lunch. custody with VanReeth.

According to the affidavit, VanReeth also said they talked about how the youth’s behavior has caused him to fall so far behind in his schoolwork and that he must put in extra time in an effort to succeed.

“VanReeth stated that he spoke to (the youth) in a stern manner and believes the conversation somewhat embarrassed and upset (the youth),” the statement said. “At the end of VanReeth’s email, he states that although he is loud, speaks quickly, and has a large and intimidating body, this behavior is not characteristic of me, my attitude, and my teaching style.”

According to the affidavit, VanReeth said in his email that he would like to speak with the minor’s parent and apologize to the minor if he made him feel unsafe, embarrassed and/or angry.

The officer who investigated the complaint stated that he received a written statement from the youth on October 8 in which the student stated that he was sitting with his head down in class and that VanReeth was walking next to him and “yanked up the hood of his hoodie.”

According to the statement, the juvenile stated “His head went back causing his neck to hurt” and the younger one he said “felt uncomfortable and unsafe around Mr. VanReeth.”

The officer who investigated the incident stated in the affidavit that he spoke with VanReeth by phone on Oct. 10 “VanReeth advised him that he was not allowed to share information with me according to his union and his attorney.”

The officer pointed out in the affidavit that the juvenile has no prior behavioral record at Marietta City Schools.

VanReeth has no completed or pending disciplinary cases, according to Ohio Department of Education records.

The case against VanReeth was filed in Marietta Municipal Court on Oct. 23, according to court records, and an arraignment hearing has been set for Nov. 19 at 9 a.m.

Requests for comment from VanReeth have not been returned as of this writing.

The school district has not commented on the incident or identified VanReeth as the teacher connected to the allegations, and a request for VanReeth’s personnel records had not been fulfilled as of press time, although Woods stated that the district was working on it request works.

Michelle Dillon can be reached at [email protected]