2/25/2022- 12:41 p.m.
Deputies said 24-year-old Austin Shane Truesdale was charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the third degree and sexual exploitation of a minor in the second degree.
The sheriff said the school resource officer at Andrew Jackson High School received information Tuesday from a school administrator that Truesdale, a part-time substitute teacher at the school, had assaulted a minor by touching him in a sexual manner.
The incident allegedly happened off school property at Truesdale’s home in January 2022. It was not related to any school activity.
Investigators said they confirmed the incident after talking with witnesses.
Deputies talked to Truesdale earlier in the week before he voluntarily came to the sheriff’s office for an interview on Thursday.
Investigators also searched Truesdale’s cellphone and found a photograph of another male minor who they say was in a state of sexually explicit nudity. The photo was also unrelated to school property or school activities.
Truesdale was arrested after the interview on warrants charging him with the two offenses.
Sheriff Barry Faile commended school officials for their help with the investigation.
“Sometimes we have no idea what’s going on in the shadows around us, and I’m very glad this information was brought to our attention, and we were able to quickly act on it,” said Faile. “I commend the school personnel who heard something that didn’t sound right and immediately told us about it.
Truesdale remains in the detention center and is awaiting a bond hearing.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office at 803-283-3388 and ask to speak with Investigators Shane Black or Sarah Williamson.
Deputies said they are investigating if there are any other victims.
