Nude photo for teen costs teacher his job

South Lyon district plans to fire teacher; police investigating

Friday, April 28, 2006
BY SUSAN L. OPPAT
News Staff Reporter

A 53-year-old English teacher has been suspended from South Lyon High School and school officials say they plan to fire him after he gave a nude picture of himself to a 16-year-old girl with whom he was having a personal relationship.

Edward Baldwin, a resident of Highland, was told by school officials on Sunday that he was suspended pending an internal investigation, said Melissa Meister, assistant superintendent for administrative services at South Lyon schools.

Since Sunday, Meister said, "we have been able to substantiate the allegations for our investigation, and are therefore seeking to discharge him.''

South Lyon Police also are investigating the case.

Police Lt. Steve Sharpe said a woman brought her 16-year-old daughter into the police station over the weekend after a family member found a photo of a nude male in the girl's room. The girl told her mother she'd asked the English teacher she'd been hugging and kissing for the photo of himself. She said she'd given the teacher photos of herself in a bathing suit, Sharpe said.

Sharpe said both the girl and the teacher denied having sex, but they each insisted they are in love. Sharpe said Baldwin also said he told the girl he could get into a lot of trouble for giving her the photo of himself.

Sharpe said criminal sexual conduct charges do not appear to apply to the situation, because the girl is old enough to consent to kissing and hugging. But he said a state and local misdemeanor law prohibits the distribution of obscene material to anyone under the age of 18.

He said police plan to submit the results of their investigation to the Oakland County prosecutor next week, where other charges could be filed.

Meister declined to say what Baldwin has told school officials, but she said he has never been the subject of a similar investigation in his 21 years with the district. In addition to teaching English, Baldwin was also an assistant varsity football coach at the high school.

Baldwin did not return a call for comment.