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PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH. 25-YEAR-OLD JOHN AUSTIN HOPKINS ONCE A POPULAR GYM TEACHER AMONG STUDENTS AT SPRINGBORO’S CLEARCREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. >> FRANKLY, THEY LOVED HIM AS A TEACHER BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF AFFECTION THAT HE WAS SHOWING THEM. ONE OF THE LITTLE GIRLS WAS CONVINCED, HE HAD CONVINCED HER THAT THEY WERE GOING TO BE MARRIED WHEN SHE GOT OLDER. KARIN: PROSECUTOR DAVID FORNSHELL SAYS THE KIDS DIDN’T REALIZE HOPKINS AFFECTION WAS INAPPROPRIATE AND CRIMINAL. >> HE IS PLACING MANY OF THE GIRLS ON HIS LAP, STRADDLING HIM IN WHAT I WOULD DESCRIBE AS A SEXUAL MANNER. KARIN: FORNSHELL SAYS MORE THAN 100 PHYSICAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN HOPKINS AND 88 FIRST GRADE GIRLS WERE CAUGHT ON SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS INSIDE THE GYMNASIUM. OF THOSE A GRAND JURY FOUND HOPKINS HAD INAPPROPRIATE CONTACT WITH 28 OF THEM ON 36 OCCASSIONS. P>> IT’S JUST A HORRIBLE SITUATION. MY HEART REALLY BREAKS FOR THO KIDS AND THE PARENTS. KARIN: SARAH VERKAMP’S SON WAS IN HOPKINS CLASS. ALTHOUGH HE WASN’T A VICTIM THIS MOM SAYS SHE HAD TO HAVE TOUGH CONVERSATIONS WITH HER CHILD AT AN EARLY AGE. >> WE ASKED THEM OVER AND OVER THROUGHOUT A COUPLE OF WEEKS IN DIFFERENT SETTINGS JUST TO MAKE SURE HE WASN’T, NOTHING HAPPENED TO HIM. KARIN: THE SEX CRIMES ALLEGEDLY TOOK PLACE BETWEEN DECEMBER OF LAST YEAR AND MARCH OF THIS YEAR. >> THIS DOESN’T JUST START ON DECEMBER 1. KARIN: ATTORNEY ANGELA WALLACE IS REPRESENTING MORE THAN 2 DOZEN SPRINGBORO FAMILIES. SHE BELIEVES HAD THE DISTRICT’S SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM NOT BEEN ON A 90 DAY LOOP, MORE VICTIMS WOULD BE IDENTIFIED. >> IT’S MY BELIEF THIS WAS GOING ON LAST YEAR WHILE HE WAS A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER AS WELL KARIN: HOPKINS RESIGNED FROM THE DISTRICT IN MARCH. HIS ATTORNEY DID NOT RETURN OUR CALLS FOR COMMENT. THE DISTRICT DECLINED AN INTERVIEW BUT RELEASED A WRITT STATEMENT SAYING A SERIES OF SEVEN LETTERS AND SEVERAL VOICE CALLS HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO THE PARENTS THROUGHOUT THE INVESTIGATION. SPRINGBORO SCHOOLS TAKES THE ALLEGATIONS VERY SERIOUSLY, AND WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH INVESTIG

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A former Springboro Community City Schools teacher has been indicted by a Warren County grand jury on 36 counts of gross sexual imposition involving 28 first grade girls.John Austin Hopkins, 25, was taken into custody Monday morning.Prosecutor David Fornshell said Hopkins was a physical education teacher at Clearcreek Elementary and Springboro Intermediate. Fornshell said Hopkins was a substitute teacher and the 2018-2019 school year was his first year as a permanent school teacher. Fornshell said Hopkins was well liked by students."Frankly, they loved him as a teacher because of the amount of affection he was showing them. What these kids didn't realize, this was completely inappropriate and criminal," Fornshell said. "One of the little girls was convinced, he had convinced her, that they were going to be married when she got older."As a result of an investigation, Fornshell said 88 first-grade girls at Clearcreek Elementary were identified and interviewed as potential child victims. Fornshell said the students were identified through 90 days worth of security footage beginning in December 2018. The school's surveillance system was on a 90-day loop, so footage prior to December wasn't available.Based on the 88 students, the grand jury considered all of the evidence and related the indictment to 28 female students at Clearcreek Elementary. Fornshell said officials have video of each incident involving the students and Hopkins and they all took place in the school's gym with other students present."He is placing many of the girls on his lap, straddling him in what I would describe as a sexual manner. With respect to some of the girls, his hands are going up their shirts, both the front side and back sides of their shirts, reaching up under the skirt, grabbing their buttocks. That's what we saw mostly with respect to these interactions," Fornshell said. Sarah Verkamp's son was in Hopkins' class. "It's just a horrible situation. My heart really breaks for those kids and the parents," Verkamp said.Verkamp said even though her son wasn't a victim, she has had to have tough conversations with him at a young age."The school sent home questions to ask that they had gone through with the guidance counselor and how to ask them and how to approach the situation," Verkamp said."We asked them over and over throughout a couple of weeks in different settings just to make sure he wasn't, nothing happened to him.Hopkins also taught at Springboro Intermediate School and was an assistant swim coach at the Coffman YMCA. Fornshell said they don't have any evidence to believe other children were involved. Fornshell said they have been contacting parents to let them know if their child was involved in the indictment. Angela Wallace is representing 28 of the 88 families involved."This doesn't just start on December first. It's my belief this was going on last year while he was a substitute teacher as well," Wallace said. Wallace said the families want to see change within the district to prevent this from happening again.She said one concern they have is a doorbell that was installed outside of the gym to alert Hopkins when someone else wanted to come in."The doorbell was installed by Mr. Hopkins on the outside of his gym class. The principal knew about that, but it was individually installed by him,' Wallace said.District spokesman, Scott Marshall, said teachers are encouraged to lock their doors for safety reasons and Hopkins wasn't the only teacher to have a doorbell installed.In a written statement, Marshall said, "A series of seven (7) letters and several voice calls have been distributed to the parents of Springboro Schools throughout the course of the entire investigation process. Springboro Schools takes the allegations against Mr. Hopkins very seriously, and will continue working with the Springboro Police Department and the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office throughout this process."Hopkins resigned from both his teaching position and as coach in March. His attorney did not return our call seeking comment.