Georgia Supreme Court Clears Former River Ridge Teacher

The Georgia Supreme Court has reversed a lower court's refusal to drop charges against a former River Ridge High School teacher who was convicted for not notifying authorities of a sexual relationship a co-worker had with a student.

The court on Monday issued the ruling, penned by Justice Keith Blackwell, which exonerated former teacher Kristin May, who was arrested in 2011 for failing to report that former paraprofessional and wrestling coach Robert Leslie Morrow had a sexual relationship with a student. 

The court ruled Georgia law requires "school teachers and other reporters only have an obligation to report the abuse of children to whom they attend in connection with the profession, occupation, employment, or volunteer work."

Morrow was sentenced to 10 years in March after a jury convicted him of sexual assault by a person with supervisory and disciplinary authority.

Specifically, he was directed to serve 240 behind bars and the rest on probation as a sex offender. 

Morrow in August 2011 was arrested by the Woodstock Police Department after the agency learned the former coach had sex with a student in 2010. 

The student told police the incident took place inside Morrow's vehicle in a business park inside the River Park subdivision.

The student also told the former teacher of the incident, but May did not report the incident to authorities. However, by the time the student reported the incident to May, she was no longer a student at River Ridge. 

After an internal investigation, both Morrow and May eventually resigned in 2011 from the Cherokee County School District.

Barry Hixson of the Cherokee County Solicitor General's Office, which prosecuted May for the offense, noted the ruling was a "disappointment to the state." 

"However, the construction of these type statutes is understandably difficult and challenging, and the ruling does provide us with a measure of guidance for any similar cases that might arise in the future," he added.