Band leader charged with sex offenses
http://heraldsun.southern....com/durham/4-1093371.cfm
lcollins@heraldsun.com
Feb 10, 2009
DURHAM -- An already embattled high school took another hit Monday morning when the recently departed Southern High School band director was charged with sex offenses.
Jamal Butler, 30, of Calibre Park Drive, was charged with two counts of felonious sexual offense, each involving a student. According to warrants, Butler "did feloniously engage in vaginal intercourse" with two 16-year-old students between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.
His bond was set at $20,000.
According to Durham Public Schools officials, Butler was originally suspended with pay, but on Jan. 29 his resignation officially took effect.
Butler had been the band director at Southern since 2005. He also taught band at the school to students in grades 9-12.
Under Butler, Southern became the most decorated marching band in the state for the 2007-08 school year, according to band announcer Scottie Smith.
Butler's charges mark the second time this school year that a Southern teacher has been under investigation for sex-related offenses. In mid-December, Willem Pet, 61, was suspended while under investigation by the state for allegedly sharing child pornography files over the Internet.
The State Bureau of Investigations Computer Crimes Unit found more than 1,800 images of suspected child pornography from an Internet Protocol (IP) address registered to Pet, according to a search warrant. The IP address was attached to a computer at Pet's home, not a computer at Southern High.
Pet, who taught English as a Second Language, was also hired at the beginning of the 2005-06 school year. Pet has not been charged.
Southern High School Principal Kenneth Barnes said last week he had recommended a replacement for Butler. Barnes did not return calls for comment.
