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Teacher accused of improperly touching two girls
BY KATHY PARKER Gazette Reporter

    A Hadley-Luzerne Middle School teacher is scheduled to appear in Lake Luzerne Town Court next week to answer charges he inappropriately touched two 14-year-old girls at the school.
    Warren County sheriff’s deputies said they have charged Keith D. Powell, 56, of Corinth, with two misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child for alleged incidents with the girls at school in his classroom.
    In his statement to police, Powell said he had hugged and kissed one of the girls and had touched the calf of the other girl in school.
    A town court clerk said Powell has not appeared in court yet and is not scheduled until May 7.
    Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan said Powell was “sexually suggestive and inappropriate” with two of his female students, and an investigation is continuing.
    According to the signed statement from Powell, he has been employed by the school district since 1986 and is the band and instrumental music teacher for the middle school.
    He said the girls began using his classroom as a study hall in February and would “discuss anything that was on their minds,” with him during these periods, including their sexual experiences.
    “If I could read a diary of [their] first sexual experience, I don’t think I could put it down,” he told police.
    He said he had hugged one of the girls and kissed her on the cheek on one occasion.
    “No other student has ever opened up to me the way she has to me. No other young person in my life has ever opened up to me like this and I had a unique situation and I was looking for a feeling of importance to her. I wanted to be on the same level with her parents,” he wrote in his statement to police.
    He said he had communicated with one of the girls through her Internet MySpace account and had given both girls money for energy drinks and one girl $50 for a pair of pants.
    Hogan would not say how police were alerted to the incidents.
    “The investigators and I went over the information and decided all we could charge him with was endangering the welfare of a child, at this point,” Hogan said.
    Powell said after he kissed the girl, he apologized and felt it was inappropriate. He said the girl’s mother called him later to ask about the hug.
    “[The mother] implied [the girl] may be overreacting,” he said.
    Hogan said court orders of protection have been signed prohibiting Powell from having any contact with the girls involved.
    Hadley-Luzerne Superintendent of Schools Earl Sussman said Tuesday that Powell was placed on administrative leave with pay and is not allowed on school grounds while the investigation continues.
    “We have a joint investigation with the sheriff’s department and the state police and our first goal is to ensure the safety of all of our students,” Sussman said.
    He said a substitute teacher has been hired to conduct Powell’s classes, and the high school music teacher is also working with students to keep the program running smoothly.

These predators seem to be everywhere, and lately there have been a number of teachers guilty of molesting kids. It's a sick world that we live in.

It's a 'youth' run world today......Moses was how old????