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FISHERS, Ind. — A former teacher from central Indiana has been sentenced to five years in prison and three years probation for child molestation. Ian Alexander Gray, 40, a former intermediate and high school teacher at Hamilton Southeastern School district, was found guilty of molesting a student during the 2017-2018 school year while he was teaching 6th-grade math at Fall Creek Intermediate School in Fishers.
Court documents reveal that a juvenile victim reported Gray touched her inappropriately while he was one of her primary teachers. A psychologist confirmed that the student was sexually assaulted around ten times. The victim said that Gray would molest her while disciplining her for minor things, such as having her phone out in the halls. She added that Gray would make her sit in a small group room before he came in and covered the windows.
The police report states that the ability to cover the door window was due to ALICE Training, which is an active shooter response training program that empowers individuals to use proactive options-based strategies in the face of violence. Once behind the coverings, Gray would sit down in a chair next to the student and repeatedly touch her inappropriately. The victim said he started by touching her thigh but later went on to touch her breasts and genitals. The student reported that this happened once a week.
Gray’s arrest report details how he would not only sexually abuse the student but also mentally manipulate her. The girl’s mother said Gray would tell other students that her daughter was a bad influence, and they should not be friends with her. The school counselor also recalled the victim not wanting to attend Gray’s class because “he was too hard on her.” The victim’s mother added that her daughter began self-harming and noticed several changes in her behavior, stating that the “shift was drastic” and her daughter had trouble progressing mentally and emotionally.
Court documents indicate that there were no discipline records for that school year regarding Gray or the student involved. Gray was hired by HSE in 2007 as a sixth-grade teacher and transferred from Fall Creek Intermediate to Riverside Junior High School in 2018. He was also a coach for the track team and math bowl.
The victim’s mother stated that after her daughter’s 6th-grade year, she began showing less interest in track, and her grades in math declined. School records reviewed by police confirmed this. Gray was arrested in June 2021, after a psychologist working with the victim alerted the Department of Child Services. He was charged with child molestation and found guilty on Jan. 24, 2023.
Gray had accumulated 36 days of jail credit before his sentencing on Friday. He will spend three years in the Indiana Department of Corrections, followed by two years in residential placement in Hamilton County Corrections Center. He was sentenced to three years of probation upon release and issued a no-contact order.
