A Grade 6 math teacher from East Bank, W.V. was caught on camera barging into another classroom and berating a student April 12.
The student, 13-year-old Jeffrey Province, said he saw the teacher, Thomas Yohn, watching porn alone in the classroom.
Province said he was the first to arrive to his classroom at East Bank Middle School when he saw what he described as X-rated content.
“I saw something that no 13-year-old should ever see in a school,” he told CBS-affiliate WOWK.
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Province said he alerted the school’s principal Michael Wilkinson and later in the day, Yohn interrupted his English class to scold him in front of his classmates.
In the video, Yohn can be heard saying:
“Next time you open your big stinking mouth, pal, I’ll write you up and send you to the office for coming into my room without permission. What I watch as an adult is my choice. You as a child wait in the hall until you’re invited into my room. Is that clear?”
He goes on to tell Province that with one more infraction, he would no longer be able to attend math class.
“I was afraid that he would do something to hurt me because I told on him and I might make him lose his job,” said Province.
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The boy’s mother, Carmelene Short, says she isn’t happy with how the school handled the situation. She said the school never told her that the incident occurred and she had to find out through Facebook.
“His grandpa said, ‘You need to get on Facebook and watch this video’ and when I did I was shocked,” she said.
When asked, assistant principal Clifford Nicholas would not comment on the incident, saying it was a personnel matter, but confirmed that Yohn had been a teacher at the school for one year. Yohn is currently listed as a staff member on the school website.
According to the Huffington Post, Wilkinson said no pornographic materials were found on Yohn’s computers.
In the video, Yohn can be heard accusing Province of blackmailing him for an A, which Province denies.
Short said she isn’t planning on taking action against Yohn or the school but is disappointed.
“He is supposed to be safe at school and this should have never happened at all,” she said.
Attempts to reach Yohn and the Kanawha County Board of Education were not returned by time of publication.
A spokesman for the state education department said, “The West Virginia Department of Education is aware of the personnel matter in East Bank and we are following up with the county. As always the safety and well being of students is our top priority.”
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