APPLING, Ga. (AP) - A Columbia County teacher is charged with failing to report suspected child abuse after a parent discovered Snapchat messages between him and a student.
Local media report 34-year-old Jon Mark Thornhill Jr. was taken into custody Sunday.
An incident report says the child's mother contacted sheriff's deputies last week after finding messages between her 14-year-old daughter and Thornhill, who teaches at Columbia Middle School.
The mother told police that her daughter was acting suspiciously so she took her phone and saw several Snapchat messages, one of which stated the child had been sexually assaulted by her father in the past.
The report states that another message said the teen missed her teacher and his hugs.
It's unclear if Thornhill has an attorney.
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