Ex-Social Studies teacher charged with having sex with former student to appear in court tomorrow

SPRINGFIELD — A former teacher at Catholic Central High School in Springfield who police say had sex with a former student is due in court tomorrow.

Michael McKenna, 62, was indicted Tuesday on six counts of sexual battery, according to Clark County Common Pleas Court records.

>> Previous Coverage: Ex-Social Studies teacher at local catholic school charged for having sex with former student

As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, last October a former student reached out to administrators at the school about the allegations. That’s when Catholic Central called Springfield police.

Springfield police confirmed with News Center 7 Wednesday that their investigation into McKenna started in the fall.

“We had a lot of evidence, digital evidence to secure and go over, and that was the reason for this amount of time,” said Sgt. James Byron with the Springfield Police Division.

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While police would not discuss what that digital evidence was, court documents that became public Tuesday list charges of six counts of sexual battery. Those same records show investigators believe the crimes happened from January 2017 through May of 2018.

“A lot of victims of trauma, come forward in their own way, in their own time,” Byron said. “So it is possible that this was just her way of working through this process and she felt this was the time to disclose.”

Police said the victim is now an adult, but said while she was still a student at Catholic Central she and McKenna were having sex.

Byron could not confirm if it happened on school property.

“Some of those details are still being worked out. I don’t want to comment on the nature of the actual investigation itself,” Byron said.

Police said McKenna did not want to talk to them for their investigation and hired a lawyer.

News Center 7 called his lawyer Wednesday and his office said no comment.

“This is still an open investigation. Again, we don’t have any other information about additional victims involving this subject, but of course, if we do, we would invite them to reach out to us,” Byron said.

McKenna is due in court for the first time Thursday.

In a statement sent out Tuesday afternoon, Catholic Central President Mike Raiff said the school was contacted by the Springfield City Police Department regarding the allegations on Tuesday.

“During the conversation, we learned that high school Social Studies teacher Mr. Michael McKenna was indicted on six counts of sexual battery involving a former student,” Raiff said.

He went on to confirm that McKenna had been terminated from his position.

“We are committed to cooperating fully with law enforcement in their investigation,” Raiff said. “Please know that the safety of our students is, and always will be, of the utmost importance to all of us at Catholic Central. We ask that you keep all parties, including the entire Catholic Central community, in your prayers.”

News Center 7 will continue following this story.

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