VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Cooke Elementary music teacher Michael Burke, who just celebrated 25 years in the Virginia Beach public school system, is accused of recording a man who was using a Walmart bathroom.
He’s been charged with a class one misdemeanor for unlawful peeping and spying in a building.
“It shocks me very much,” said parent Alysha Smith when she heard that Burke was suspended without pay after the alleged incident. “I am just hearing about it, and it is just very uncomfortable to know that, and to know the kids here are around somebody like that.”
No one answered the door at Burke’s apartment on Monday. 10 On Your Side left a note, but did not get a call back. His home is directly across the street from the Nimmo Parkway Walmart in the Red Mill Commons shopping center.
Police say Burke went in the men’s bathroom and started recording another man using the bathroom on March 1. A complaint was made, and Burke was arrested on March 7.
Virginia Beach Public Schools confirms when they heard that the next day, they suspended Burke without pay.
One Cooke Elementary parent, who did not want to be seen, said she got an email about the suspension, but also said she knows Burke and never thought of him as threatening to any children.
Smith disagrees, and thinks what has happened is a disqualification from Burke serving at Cooke Elementary.
“I think he should be suspended for good. He is suspended without pay … he should be terminated if he is found guilty.” Asked what should be done if he’s not found guilty, Smith responded, “I don’t think he should be in the school … I just think the allegations he is accused of is not suited for children.”
Burke will be in court June 4 and remains out of jail on his own recognizance.
