BALTIMORE, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- A Maryland elementary school teacher has been charged with having sex with one of his students and sexually abusing 14 others, court documents indicate.
Lawrence W. Joynes, 54, was a teacher in Montgomery County from 1985 until shortly before February, when he as arrested on a pornography charge, The Washington Post said.
He allegedly began abusing children as early as 1991, when Joynes began befriending young girls and getting them to suggestively pose for his sexual videos, the report said.
In the 1990s, he allegedly had a lengthy, two-year sexual relationship with a seventh-grader, whom he had intercourse with in his music classroom.
In that case, he has been charged with second-degree rape, child abuse and sex offenses.
The alleged victim came forward after seeing pictures of Joynes on the news after his pornography arrest, when police found the videotapes of the students, the Post said.
Joynes is being held in the Baltimore County jail in connection with the pornography charge and is no longer employed by the school district.
During his career, he taught at 11 Montgomery public schools.
Police are continuing their investigation and have asked any other victims to contact them.
School district spokesman Dana Tofig said they are conducting their own investigation.
"We have conducted an internal investigation into this matter, not only about the specifics of the allegations against Mr. Joynes, but looking into how these allegations were handled by our staff," Tofig said in an email to the Post.
