A former Florence School District 1 teacher accused of engaging in inappropriate conduct with students was arrested Tuesday, Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone said.
Amy Barhite, 32, of 737 McKeithan Road is charged with two counts of solicitation of a minor, Florence County Detention Center booking reports show. She was arrested and booked about 11 a.m., then released about 2:30 p.m. Bond information wasn’t available.
Barhite is accused of sending “inappropriate texts” to more than one student younger than 18, Florence County Sheriff’s Lt. Jason Dore said.
According to the arrest warrants, the text messages were intended to persuade or entice the students to engage in sexual activity. The investigation indicated no actual sexual contact ever took place, Dore said.
Deputies and school administrators became aware of the situation when they questioned the student about other allegations against Barhite. The original allegations were unfounded.
Florence 1 superintendent Larry Jackson said a West Florence High School history and social studies teacher resigned Dec. 14 following an investigation into a report of inappropriate behavior with students. The teacher was midway through her second year with the district, he said.
The school’s investigation went quickly because some of the communication was through the system’s e-mail servers, Jackson said.
“We have also cooperated with law enforcement. We made them aware, but I think they had some knowledge already,” he said in a previous interview.
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