Parents shocked after former teacher accused of sending inappropriate video

CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. — Parents tell Channel 9 they're stunned after learning a former middle school teacher is accused of sending nude pictures and videos to students.

The school sent out a letter concerning the teacher's replacement.        

The letter stated they hired a new teacher to replace Caron Blanton at Burns Middle School, but it doesn't mention the charges against her, or the pornographic images police say she sent to students.

"I was shocked," said Stacey Rivers.

Rivers' daughter had Caron Blanton as a teacher two years ago at about the same time that investigators say she started sharing pictures of herself with male students.

Detectives said that eventually led to Blanton sending a pornographic video of herself to her former students.

"I would never, never expected it.  She was a nice teacher," Rivers said.

Rivers said Blanton was always respectful and kind.   

She still has a hard time believing Blanton is suspected of sharing a nude video and pictures with young boys.

"These are people's kids.  Respect that," she said.

Investigators said the video was sent to a 15-year-old who is now at Burns High School and another minor who is also a former student in Blanton's class.

Those students shared it with others.

"It's probably opened a lot of eyes around here because people think it's a small community it couldn't happen here," Rivers said.
 It also has the attention of administrators.

They have regulations in place designed to prevent situations like this, but they want to take another look at their policies to make sure they cover social media and other forms of communication commonly used by students.

Then they will let parents, teachers and students know if they need to make any changes to their policies.

Meanwhile investigators say they are checking to see if any other students received illicit pictures or video.

Blanton heads to court on May 14.

WSOC