CatherineMichelleBell.png

Catherine Michelle Bell

((Shelby County Jail))

PELHAM, Alabama - A former assistant principal at Pelham High School was arrested Thursday on charges she had sex with a male student.

Catherine Michelle Bell, 33, turned herself in to the Shelby County Jail about 2:45 p.m. She is charged with three counts of "School Employee Engaging in a Sex Act or Deviant Sexual Intercourse with a Student Under the Age of 19 years," Shelby County Sheriff Chris Curry announced this afternoon.

Her arrest comes less than two weeks after another teacher in Shelby County pleaded guilty to similar charges. Hoover's former Spain Park High School teacher Stephanie Suggs Millard, 34, was arrested a year ago.

The sheriff's office led the investigation after being contacted by the Pelham Police Department, said Capt. Ken Burchfield. Sheriff's investigators, along with the district attorney's office, obtained the warrants against Bell, who is from Alabaster.

She was held in the Shelby County Jail but released this evening after posting $90,000 bond. Authorities didn't release specifics about the allegations against Bell. She was one of four assistant principals at the high school. Court records show she and her husband divorced in August and have shared custody of a 4-year-old son.

Shelby County Schools spokeswoman Cindy Warner released the following statement. She said they wouldn't answer additional questions at this time.

"The Shelby County School District always takes these types of allegations seriously. The school district took immediate action when we were first made aware of the allegations. The employee was placed on administrative leave while the matter was being investigated by the school district, with the assistance of local law enforcement. She subsequently resigned from her position on November 21."

In Hoover's Millard case,

to one count of the same charge Bell is facing, but a second charge was dismissed. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but Shelby county Circuit Court Judge Dan Reeves suspended the sentenced and placed her on probation for five years.

Birmingham defense attorney Tommy Spina is representing Bell. "She has fully cooperated with law enforcement and the school board since being confronted with these charges,'' he said. "She resigned her position as assistant principal, cooperated with the school board officials and voluntarily surrendered all information she had in her possession when asked by the investigator to do so. She voluntarily surrendered to the jail today, and has made bond."

Spina said the statute under which Bell is charged is relatively new, 2010. It makes it a crime for a school employee to have any sexual contact with a student, whether the student is of age or not or whether he or she consents or not.

"It's essentially a strict liability statute, rare in criminal cases, which normally requires a specific intent to do something the law forbids,'' he said.

He added there are no reported cases addressing the constitutionality of the issue. The charges against Bell are Class B felonies.

Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to call the sheriff's office at 205-669-4181, through the Secret Witness line at 205-669-9116, or through the website at www.ShelbySo.com by clicking on the "Report Criminal Activity" link and choosing the "General Information" category.

Updated at 7:09 p.m. to include comments from Bell's attorney Tommy Spina.