POTTSVILLE, Ark. — A Pottsville School District teacher has been arrested and charged with 1st-degree sexual assault with a minor.
Meredith “Lyndsey” Hill was taken into custody at the Pope County Detention Center on Thursday, January 19th at around 10:00 a.m.
Hill is a Pottsville 7th-grade science teacher and Head varsity tennis and softball coach.
Hours after Hill was arrested, Pottsville School District held a meeting to discuss millage extensions.
Hill’s arrest was not on the agenda but parents in attendance had the incident on their minds.
One parent, whose children are in the 9th and 11th grades says she is angry at the district because she had to find out through social media.
She says the district “didn’t take the courtesy to call the parent and say we are aware of this and we’re sorry that this happened on our watch.”
This parent says her 9th-grade son was taught by Hill in the 7th grade.
She says her son told her when he was in 8th grade, there were inappropriate rumors of Hill involving a student.
“There’s been accusations going on for over a year that my child is aware of, and nobody has done anything,” she says.
“If the administration knew something about this before and didn’t do anything, I think there needs to be some firings here,” one parent, who says he’s a second-generation graduate of Pottsville called says.
According to reports, in 2022 there were nearly 350 public educators arrested on child sex-related crimes in the US.
These parents feel, with the frequency of this crime, there needs to be further evaluation before hiring teachers.
The Pottsville graduate says “maybe it’s time for some psychological evaluations” to go along with background checks, to see what’s causing problems to reoccur.
Multiple agencies are investigating Meridith Lyndsey Hill. This includes the Pope County Sheriff’s Office, Arkansas State Police, and Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Women and Children Division which notified Pottsville police on Friday, January 13th.
At the district meeting on the night of Hill’s arrest, Superintendent Larry Dugger made a clear message that there will be no discussion regarding the investigation of Meridith “Lyndsey” Hill.
Superintendent Dugger released the following statement:
Pottsville School District has been made aware of an allegation involving a student and staff member. We are cooperating with law enforcement’s investigation into the matter and have taken all appropriate and lawful actions to assure the safety of students, which is the District’s top priority at all times. Due to confidentiality considerations for students and staff under applicable law, the District will have no further comment at this time.
Hill will appear before Circuit Judge James Dunham via Zoom for a bond hearing on Friday, January 20, 2023, at 9:00 a.m
