NEW KENT COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A former teacher and coach in New Kent County turned himself in to authorities Monday after being charged with multiple crimes involving children.
Matthew Spencer Duckworth, 40, was arrested Monday morning by the New Kent County Sheriff’s Office and charged with five counts of ‘use of communication systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children.’
A criminal complaint from the victim stated that a naked photo of a man was sent to her from Duckworth’s account and that Duckworth also offered her crushed Xanax pills at school.
“We’ve been investigating this case for about two months,” Sheriff Joe McLaughlin Jr. with the New Kent County Sheriff’s Office said. “We did start with our school system and conducted a follow-up from there.”
The New Kent County Sheriff’s Office said Duckworth was employed as a teacher at New Kent High School and coached several sports teams when the alleged crimes occurred. Duckworth, who taught at the school for over 15 years, is no longer employed by the New Kent County School System.
8News spoke with a former student, Jordan Mitchell, about the developments.
“I took his biology class in 10th grade,” Mitchell explained. “He was just a normal teacher. He was really fun.”
Duckworth is set to appear in court again on Jan. 7.
“I was really surprised honestly because he never gave off those vibes of being like that,” Mitchell said. “It is a little bit scary because you can never tell.”
Duckworth is out on bond but must give up devices for communication and he may not contact the alleged victim.
