Docs: Teacher, student began sexual relationship after she had car issues
FRANKLIN, Ind. (WISH) — An assistant choir director at an Indiana high school is charged with a felony after allegedly having sex with an underage student.
Alex Brickens, 28, faces one felony count in the case. Brickens is an assistant choir director at Franklin High School. He was immediately suspended after being arrested last week.
Brickens was in his second year of teaching at FCS. He had previously worked for four years at Center Grove Middle School Central.
According to court documents, he began a relationship with a student after she had car issues, with him asking her to text him when she got home. She said they spoke while she waited for a friend to come help her with the car’s dead battery. In a probable cause affidavit, she says she “turned to him for help when her car’s battery was dead.”
The victim told investigators that she texted him later that week and asked to come over to his house, where they had consensual and unprotected sex. The victim said they sex approximately ten times during the 2017-18 school year. Court documents indicate she was 17 when the relationship began.
She said she told a friend about it, leading to rumors being spread around the school. The relationship came to the attention of investigators on Oct. 1, 2018.
In an interview with police, Brickens initially said the rumors were untrue, but eventually told investigators that the two had sexual intercourse. While the victim said the first encounter occurred when she was 17, Brickens told police it happened after she graduated. When told of the victim’s statement regarding when it first occurred, Brickens then said he agreed with her statement, according to police.
Brickens bonded out of jail on his day of arrest.
His first court appearance is set for October 22.
The school also sent out the following letter to choir parents after the arrest:
FCHS Choir Parents, I am emailing you to make you aware of a meeting I had with all choir and show band students this morning. The meeting was an attempt to share information in two ways: the first part of the meeting involved providing students with what limited information we are able to share about an incident involving Mr. Brickens, Assistant Choir Director. The second part of the meeting was to share some of my personal thoughts and support for all of them.
I opened the meeting by letting them know that we were made aware of Mr. Brickens’ arrest yesterday. Throughout this process, we have been in cooperation with the Franklin Police Department and sharing information under their guidance. We are not able to comment on these legal and personnel issues at this time. The meeting then moved to the role students played in this process and how we can support all of our students through this difficult time. We were able to deal with this issue because some very courageous students were willing to report what they had heard or knew. While I did not use individual names, I praised the students who came forward with information. It was not an easy decision for those students, but they absolutely did the right thing. We stress at every opportunity we have with students the importance of reporting what they hear and know. We are thankful for what these students did and want to make sure they are supported in the coming days. Any negative actions taken towards the students who shared information will be dealt with in a disciplinary way.
I also wanted to share with the group that we are available for support. Dr. Clendening, central office staff, and counselors were in attendance as I shared information. While our ability to talk about the case is limited, our ability to talk with them through the emotions of this incident is not. We want to be able to help them in whatever way we can. The actions that led to this arrest are not acceptable and not who we are at Franklin Community High School.
In the coming days, I would encourage you to let our counseling staff know if we can support your sons and daughters in any way. If they have additional information they feel would be important for the school and police to know please have them share that information with school staff or administration.
Mr. Steve Ahaus Franklin
Community High School
Principal
