According to a complaint, John Freshwater used an electrostatic device to burn crosses onto students’ arms.  One of the students said that the pain was so severe that it prevented him from sleeping at night.

 

Attorney Jessica Philemon said her client was one of the students involved. She referred to the student as John Doe, 10TV's Tanisha Mallett reported.

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"The cross-burning happened during an eighth-grade science class," Philemon said. "It happened with a science machine that uses an electric shock to cause a burn, and the teacher chose to burn a cross onto John Doe's forearm."

 

Philemon said parents complained to the district after the alleged incident in December 2007.

 

10TV News reported last week that Freshwater agreed to take down the Ten Commandments from the door of his classroom, along with posters containing Bible verses and Bibles on a shelf.  However, he refused to remove a Bible from his desk.

 

The complaint charges that Freshwater used his classroom to advance religion in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.  In a recent class, it was charged that Freshwater taught the meaning of Good Friday and Easter.

 

“The allegations against Mr. Freshwater are very serious,” said Steve Short, the school superintendent.  “This is not about his personal Bible on his desktop.  It is about the totality of his conduct.”

 

According to the district, there were also allegations that Freshwater conducted prayers and engaged in a “healing session” as part of a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting. 

 

After Freshwater acknowledged he may have engaged inappropriately as a participant rather than monitor the meetings, Short directed the middle school principal to remove Freshwater as a monitor.

 

Until the investigation concludes, Freshwater's classroom will be monitored, the district said.

 

According to the Ohio Department of Education, there is no state rule or policy on religious articles. It leaves the decision up to individual school districts to decide.
 
10TV obtained a copy of Mount Vernon's policy and it states that the district does not allow "devotional exercises or displays of a religious character," Mallett reported.
 
Short said he was made aware the policy was being violated after a parent complained.
 
"The complaint involved the Ten Commandments and I believe eight to 10 Bibles that were stacked on a shelf," Short said last week.