A 30-year-old male teacher from Pinson Valley High School was taken into custody today after a female student disclosed he had sexual contact with her.

Just after school began this morning the victim went to the principal and disclosed that she had been having sexual contact with the teacher. The principal contacted the School Resource Deputy who took the initial report and requested a youth services detective come to the school.

The victim reported that the contact began just after the start of the school year and had continued since. Detectives questioned the teacher. He admitted to having sexual contact with the victim.

The teacher was taken into custody and transported to the Jefferson County Jail to await formal charges. The name of the suspect is withheld pending formal charges.

However, according to the Jefferson County Jail booking records, Joseph Allan Farmer, of Collinsville, was booked today for one count of first degree sodomy, one county of first-degree sex abuse-sex contact compulsion and one count of a school employee engaging in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student under the age of 19. No bond has been set. 

According to the Pinson Valley High School staff directory, Farmer is a 2017 graduate of Jacksonville State University who taught science. He also assisted with the schools baseball and wrestling programs and the football program at Rudd Middle School. 

In the teacher profile, written in first person, Farmer wrote. “This is my first year at Pinson Valley and I am loving the opportunity to interact with these students.” The profile was not dated and it is not known how long Farmer has been a teacher at the school.