Teacher accused of 5 sex crimes ‘exploited his position of trust,’ NC cops say

A North Carolina high school teacher accused of sex crimes “exploited his position of trust,” officials said.

Albert Pavon faces five charges in the sexual abuse case, which involved a student, according to Asheville-area deputies.

“Buncombe County Schools is shocked by this situation and is fully cooperating with law enforcement,” the district told McClatchy News in an emailed statement. “Albert Pavon has been suspended and is banned from our campuses pending our investigation in conjunction with the sheriff’s office.”

Buncombe County deputies didn’t list attorney information for Pavon in a June 24 news release.

Officials said Pavon had been a teacher for two years at Clyde A. Erwin High School in Asheville. He taught science classes in a program designed for students with disabilities and worked in “other Inclusion/Academic Support settings,” according to a profile on the mountain school district’s website that was no longer visible as of about 10:30 a.m.

Pavon, 35, is charged with indecent liberties with a child, indecent liberties with a student and “three counts of felony dissemination of obscene material to a minor,” records show. He was booked into the Buncombe County jail and given a $50,000 bond.

“Thank you to the Detectives from our Special Investigations Unit for their great team work and investigation into the reported crimes of Albert Pavon who exploited his position of trust within our community,” Detective Sgt. Caleb Hunter, a supervisor with the sheriff’s office, wrote in the department’s release.

The investigation continues, and there could be additional charges, officials said.

“As this is an active law enforcement investigation, we are unable to comment further,” the school district wrote in its statement.

The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, which said a search warrant was executed at Pavon’s home in Haywood County, didn’t immediately share additional information with McClatchy News on June 24.

If you have experienced sexual assault and need someone to talk to, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline for support at 1-800-656-4673 or visit the hotline's online chatroom.

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