Noblesville High School teacher charged with child seduction

A former teacher at Noblesville High School is facing nearly a dozen felony charges after being accused of inappropriate conduct with two students.

Michael Douce, 31, turned himself around 4 p.m. Thursday at the Hamilton County Jail after being charged in Hamilton Superior Court. Douce is the assistant director of choirs, according to the school website.

He faces eight counts of child seduction, one count of burglary, one count of child exploitation and one count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors. He also faces two misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Douce is accused of having a sexual relationship with two Noblesville High School students between the ages of 16 and 18 throughout 2014.

School officials said they learned of Douce's arrest warrant being issued Thursday and he is no longer employed by the district.

Noblesville Schools released the following statement:

"Mr. Douce's employment with Noblesville Schools has officially been terminated for inappropriate conduct. We removed Mr. Douce from student contact as soon as we became aware of this situation in December, and have provided counseling services for all students in his class. Having first brought this matter to the attention of Noblesville Police, we worked aggressively during their investigation, and appreciate their dedication during this time.

"We are angry with Mr. Douce for violating our trust, and more importantly the trust of his students. We are saddened for the victims impacted by his actions, and our thoughts go out to them and their families."

A probable cause affidavit states that police were contacted by school officials on Dec. 17. Earlier that day, a parent told Principal Jeff Bryant about a naked photo of Douce on her daughter's cellphone.

Douce was the student's choir director.

When speaking to investigators, the student said that nothing physical had taken place between her and Douce and that nothing was forced. She added that she was in love with Douce and that she sent him nude photos, the court documents state.

A scan of the student's phone led to the discovery of at least five nude photos of Douce and multiple sexual text messages between him and the student, documents state.

The parent told police that she grew suspicious of the relationship between her daughter and Douce because the student would often speak negatively about Douce's wife, documents state. That is what prompted the parent to check her daughter's phone.

On Dec. 22, the student contacted police with the desire to clear up things about her relationship with Douce, documents state. She told police that the two began flirting during winter break, and when they returned to school in January 2014, a sexual relationship began.

The student went on to say that she performed sexual acts with Douce in multiple locations in the high school from January until the end of the school year, court documents state. The locations included a sound booth on the top floor and a storage closet in Douce's office.

During the summer, Douce invited the student to his home, documents state. The student told police that when she would visit Douce he would give her alcohol and marijuana.

She added that she had sex with Douce for the first time in the summer, and 30 to 50 times total, documents state. The acts took place in both Douce's and the student's home.

The Department of Child Services contacted the Noblesville Police Department on Dec. 22. DCS reported that Douce was involved with another student, as well.

Police went to the second student's home, and the student's parents confirmed the allegations from the DCS report, documents state.

The second student, also in the choir, told police that she first got Douce's number and began texting him in fall 2013, documents state. She said the texting began getting sexual around spring break 2014.

The relationship progressed, and they first had sexual contact in the school in May 2014, documents state.

The second student's phone was examined on Jan. 5, documents state. The probe led to the discovery of sexual text messages, nude pictures of the student sent to Douce and texts discussing plans to have sex.

Call Star reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.