Teacher accused of sending inappropriate video to former students

CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. — A former Cleveland County teacher accused of sending nude pictures and video to students did not show up in court Wednesday as scheduled -- but her lawyer was there.

Caron Blanton did not have to show up for court and her attorney gave no comment about the case.

Police have charged Blanton, from Mooresboro, with three counts of indecent liberties with a child under 16 and six counts of disseminating obscene material to a minor.

Investigators said Blanton became close with the two teens while they were students at Burns Middle School about two years ago.

The said she shared photos of herself with them.

Police said the sharing started as ordinary pictures, then images of herself in a bathing suit, and eventually video of her nude performing lewd acts.

Investigators said some of the videos were recorded in her home and none was recorded on school property -- although they were discovered at school.

Deputies said a 15-year-old who received the video had it on his cell phone at Burns High School and another student saw it and told administrators.

Blanton, 34, turned herself in Tuesday.  Officials said she resigned from the school last week.

"There's no question in our mind, who is in the video. Who made the video. We know exactly who was in the video," said Cleveland County Sheriff's Office Capt. Joel Shores.

Deputies want parents to talk to their children about what's being sent to their phones.

"We encourage parents to interact with their child to make sure they know who they are interacting with and to make sure that they know what's going on in those conversations," said Shores.

WSOC