A Christian elementary school teacher has been charged with child sex abuse. Kelly McEachran, 66, who had been working for Hope Christian School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old female student.
Editor’s note: This article refers to disturbing reports of child sex abuse that some readers might find triggering.
According to the child’s family, the alleged abuse took place over the course of several months. The child’s parents contacted school administrators in April regarding the alleged abuse, and McEachran was put on administrative leave.
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According to KOAT, a police investigation found McEachren had allegedly sat the victim down in a chair next to him and inappropriately touched her over and under her clothing.
McEachran is facing multiple charges, including rape and criminal sexual contact of a minor, according to KOB4.
Commander Kyle Hartsock of the criminal investigation division of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) said that “Hope Christian worked really well with our team in making sure that the kid’s safety was a priority, which we appreciate, and so did the adults in her life.”
“[McEachran] doesn’t have a criminal history, but he’s worked at Hope Christian,” said Hartsock. “It looks like for a decade, we don’t have the exact time, but at least one of the parents of this child was actually taught by him as a child. So he’s been there long enough to be teaching the next generation of kids.”
Hartsock added, “I’ve been doing this for 22 years, and it’s pretty rare that you’re going to go your whole life, especially around kids, and all of a sudden, at this certain age, decades later, you just start doing this to a child.”
“It’s much more likely that he’s had other victims,” Hartsock said, “and they have been scared, coerced, or threatened to not come forward, or they just believe that they wouldn’t be believed.” Hartsock urged any other victims to come forward.
