Teacher in Orange County Schools charged with secret peeping, Sheriff’s Office says

An Orange County Schools teacher was charged Friday with one count of secret peeping, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.

Robert James Herman, a 46-year-old teacher at Efland-Cheeks Elementary School, was removed from his school and charged with the Class I felony after “allegations of inappropriate behavior involving a student,” the school district said in a statement.

An arrest warrant obtained Monday from court records accuses Herman of using an electronic device to “secretly or surreptitiously” take a photo under a person’s clothing without their consent “for the purpose of viewing the person’s body or undergarments.”

Herman, who lives in Mebane, taught third grade students at Pathways Elementary School from August 2018 to July 2021, before being hired to teach academically and intellectually gifted classes at Efland Cheeks Global Elementary School in August 2023, district spokesman Kevin Smith said Monday in an email.

He was released Friday on a written promise to appear in court, and could receive up to 24 months in prison if found guilty, court officials said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator P. Gilchrist at 919-245-2928.

Per district policies, Herman has been suspended with pay and will not be allowed at any school campus or facility while the allegation is under investigation.

“Nothing is more important to Orange County Schools and all our public safety partners than the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff,” the school district said in the statement provided by public information officer Kevin Smith.

“If anyone — student, family member, employee, or community member — can share information that will help keep students safe, please use our Say Something Anonymous Reporting System online at www.saysomething.net or by phone at 1-844-5-SAY-NOW at any time.”

This story was originally published May 17, 2024 at 5:49 PM.