Police search home of accused Va. Beach teacher

VIRGINIA BEACH

Police have searched the home of a Landstown High School math teacher who is accused of spanking a student. They confiscated a computer and several digital storage devices, according to a search warrant filed in Circuit Court that alleged he referred to performing similar acts with others.

Michael David Shanklin Jr., 37, was arrested Jan. 18 and charged with abduction and sexual abuse after a student reported being hit several times with a belt.

Police said the girl stayed after school for a tutoring session and had failed to complete an assignment. She accused the teacher of hitting her across the buttocks as punishment.

The student reported the incident to a school nurse, who called police. The student said Shanklin told her to bend over a desk and then made sexual references as he hit her multiple times with a belt, according to the search warrant.

Afterward, according to the warrant, the teacher "made references to similar acts with other juveniles." A police search of Shanklin's cell phone showed several photographs of young girls at random locations, the warrant said.

Shanklin, who lives in the 2500 block of Hunters Run Trail, is being held in jail without bond pending a preliminary hearing.

He has been placed on leave without pay pending the outcome of the court case, a school division spokeswoman said. Shanklin has taught at Landstown High since August 2006.