A former Cincinnati-area special education teacher has been charged with several counts of sexual battery and other charges involving a student.
Ryan Cunningham, 33, was indicted May 1 in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court on felony charges including pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, disseminating matter harmful to juveniles and sexual battery.
On Feb. 23, Montgomery police notified Skyward Academy, a school for children with learning disabilities, of allegations that Cunningham, a teacher at the time, had engaged in “inappropriate conduct with a former student,” Superintendent Melissa Amrein said.
Cunningham was placed on administrative leave and fired Feb. 24. Amrein said she immediately filed a report with the State Board of Education’s Office of Professional Conduct.
“Skyward Academy prioritizes the safety and well-being of its students,” Amrein said, and has fully cooperated with the criminal investigation.
Cunningham had worked at the school’s Montgomery campus as a science teacher for eight years, Amrein said. In 2021, he started an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old student, according to a report from the Montgomery Police Department.
Cunningham began messaging the student on Snapchat from an account she did not recognize. He asked her about her feelings about “Mr. Cunningham,” the student told police. He then revealed that he was Cunningham.
The student told police in February that Cunningham kissed her and touched her thighs two to four times at the school. When the student turned 18 but was still a senior at the school, she said, the two exchanged inappropriate photos on Snapchat and that Cunningham sent her seven or eight nude photos and three of four nude videos, according to the police report.
The report states that screenshots of text messages between Cunningham and the student show Cunningham made multiple comments about him “looking forward” to when she graduates so that “their relationship can move forward.”
Cunningham is not currently listed as an inmate at the Hamilton County Justice Center. Court records do not list a lawyer for him as of May 4. The Enquirer left a voicemail and a text message for Cunningham regarding his charges but did not immediately get a response.
This Enquirer will update this report.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Special education teacher faces sex abuse charges involving student
Reporting by Gillian Stawiszynski, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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