MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. – There are allegations of sexual misconduct between a teacher and a student at Bishop Foley High School in Madison Heights.
Parents and students say the teacher had just joined the faculty this year. She is a Spanish and journalism teacher for the 9th and 10th grades.
Haley Hernandez, a 10th grade student who knows the accused teacher and student, said there was something odd about the teacher.
"I mean, she was very nice, but she was kind of too nice in a way that she was very touchy, feely and sensitive, and I didn't like it," said Hernandez. "I always knew that they were really close -- that he was a very close student of hers. She had her favorite students. It was obvious."
Hernandez's mother calls the allegations horrifying.
"There are just certain lines you don't cross, ever," said Anne Hernandez. "Teachers should know better, and adults should know better. You never cross those lines, ever. And it's disgusting and it's immature, and it should never happen."
School officials became aware of the allegations last week. On Tuesday, a letter went home to parents. In it, the Archdiocese of Detroit said:
"Providing a safe, Christian environment for students is at the very core of what it means to be a Catholic school. Whatever the details or outcome, such allegations are disconcerting and are treated with the utmost seriousness."
Madison Heights police are not saying much right now. It will be a multi-jurisdictional investigation. Sources tell Local 4 that while the school is in Madison Heights, alleged relations between the teacher and student happened in Sterling Heights.
The high school released this statement on Wednesday:
"On Friday, May 16th, 2014, parents of a Bishop Foley High School student, accompanied by the President of Bishop Foley High School, filed a complaint with the Madison Heights Police Department. The complaint alleges that inappropriate conduct occurred between a staff member of Bishop Foley High School and a student. The Madison Heights Police Department is in the preliminary stages of conducting an investigation that will involve multiple jurisdictions. Due to the sensitivity of the allegations, the student being a juvenile and the investigation being in the preliminary stages, the Madison Heights Police Department is not providing any further information regarding this incident at this time."