IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — A former elementary school teacher is facing dozens of additional charges of taking indecent liberties with children, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office said.
Officials said the investigation involving John Thomas Patterson, who was a fourth-grade teacher at Mount Mourne Elementary School until 1987, began in October 2012. According to the original allegations, Patterson had inappropriately touched four or five male students during the mid- to late 1980s, the sheriff’s office said. He was charged with 14 counts of taking indecent liberties.
Investigators said after Patterson's arrest, alleged victims and witnesses came forward who were students in his classroom from the mid-1970s through the late 1980s. In February, an additional 96 charges of taking indecent liberties with children were filed.
On Tuesday, 97 additional charges of taking indecent liberties with children were filed against Patterson. The sheriff’s office said the charges stem from seven alleged victims who came forward after the initial allegations.
Patterson has been charged with a total of 207 counts of taking indecent liberties and one count of first-degree sex offense. Investigators said the charges involve 14 people who were students of Patterson's.