A middle-school teacher and the chair of the Democratic Party in Jay County, Indiana, resigned both of those positions after he was accused of masturbating in front of his students and sending explicit photos to a person who identified herself as a 15-year-old girl.
The eighth-grade students in Joel Bowers’ sixth-period social studies class at Jay County Junior-Senior High School in Portland, Indiana, about an hour south of Fort Wayne, became increasingly uncomfortable during class on April 9. According to reports, Mr. Bowers, 37, refused to get up from his seat to teach the class that day but never really assigned students to perform any tasks.
Bowers “would not get out of his seat and didn’t tell us to do anything,” a student later claimed.
One female student reportedly took photos and video of Bowers during class that day and sent them to her mother. The video and photo evidence indicated that he had a white stain near the groin area of his pants, that his shirt was partially untucked, that he was sweating profusely, and that he had a hand under his desk.
“There was white stuff on his pants and he would not get up for anything,” the girl said in a report submitted to school resource officer Cody Jesse a day after the alleged incident.
“He had his hand down there and was sweating, but it was cold in his room. His hands was down there, but when someone went up there he would wipe his hand off with paper towel.”
Other students made similar observations, claiming that Bowers refused to leave his seat and told students to come to his desk if they had questions. When students began whispering about what he might be doing, Bowers allegedly told them he was looking at his phone for other reasons, the Commercial Review said.
Some students even alleged that Bowers was ogling students’ rear ends that day as well.
When police and school administrators confronted him with the allegations, Bowers denied “touching himself in class,” the Star Press reported. He also furnished the pants he had been wearing that day. Though the pants reportedly had a white stain in the vicinity of his crotch, just as students had said, Bowers claimed the stain was paint.
Bowers acknowledged to police that he should have ended their conversation after she told him she was actually 15 but that he ‘got caught up in the moment,’ the police report said.
During the investigation, police uncovered a Snapchat conversation Bowers had with a user who identified herself as a 15-year-old girl. During their exchanges, Bowers allegedly sent the girl a photo of his erect penis.
When confronted with the Snapchat evidence, Bowers said he initially believed the individual was 18 since he had met her on Free Chat Now, an online platform ostensibly restricted to those 18 and up.
Bowers then allegedly invited the girl to move their conversation from Free Chat Now to Snapchat, where they could exchange photos and engage in what he described to police as “age play.” Bowers acknowledged to police that he should have ended their conversation after she told him she was actually 15 but that he “got caught up in the moment,” the police report said.
Bowers said he wasn’t sure exactly how old she was, according to the police report. Whether his interlocutor has been identified and confirmed to be a 15-year-old girl is unclear.
Finally, Bowers allegedly admitted to police that he has sent nude photos to other women in the past and that he has done internet searches for “youngest or younger porn,” the Commercial Review reported.
Within days of the alleged masturbation incident, Bowers was placed on administrative leave, the Mercer County Outlook reported. He resigned from his teaching position on May 20.
At the time of the alleged incident, Bowers was also the chair of the Jay County Democrats. He resigned from that position around the same time he resigned from his teaching post.
Last Tuesday, Bowers was arrested and charged with performance before a minor that is harmful to minors and dissemination of matter harmful to minors, both Level 6 felonies. He was taken to Jay County Jail but later released on $3,000 bond.
According to the Commercial Review, Bowers has no prior record aside from a traffic violation.
Blaze News attempted to reach Bowers for comment, dialing multiple numbers believed to be associated with him. One number has since been disconnected. A message left at another number was not returned.
Neither the school nor the administrator of the Jay County Democrats Facebook page, where Bowers is likewise still listed as an administrator, responded to a request for comment from Blaze News.
H/T: Libs of TikTok
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