Former Johnston County Teacher Faces Sex Abuse Charges

By KevinMarcilliat, In Sex Crimes, 0 Comments

Sex crime charges continue to mount as more students come forward with information about a Clayton man accused of various sex crimes against children, including statutory rape, sex with a student, sexual battery and indecent liberties, all with boys under 16-years-old.

The former seventh grade science teacher, Paul Canally, was arrested a few weeks ago for sex crimes related to one boy but five more boys have since come forward with stories of sexual abuse by the Clayton man. The boys claim that they met the teacher through school and he then used social media – Facebook – to continue building the relationships until finally requesting each boy come to his home.

Once at his house, the Clayton teacher allegedly molested the boys as well as took pictures of them. Only one neighbor reported suspicious behavior at Canally’s home. The neighbor said he saw Canally with a young boy at 2am, which he thought was odd, but he did not mention anything illegal. Canally is currently being held on over $2 million bond.

Police say the investigation into the former Archer Lodge Middle school teacher is still ongoing. They are unsure whether there are additional victims who may still come forward. It is not uncommon for additional victims to find the courage to report a sex crime after others have started doing so, according to Clayton police.

Canally resigned from teaching at the middle school in July of 2009 for personal reasons. He was under investigation for a verbal complaint, but the complaint did not involve allegations of sexual misconduct, according to a Johnston County Schools spokesperson.

Source: WRAL.com, “Sex abuse charges mount against ex-teacher as victims speak out,” March 19, 2012