INDIANAPOLIS — A former teacher at Ben Davis University High School has been arrested and charged with child seduction stemming from a sexual relationship he had with a former student at the school.
According to court records, Robert Foote, 32, has been charged in Marion Superior Court with six counts of child seduction, all level 5 felonies.
In court documents, the victim said the conduct happened between May and July 2019 when she was 17 and after she had graduated from Ben Davis University High School.
The woman told investigators that during her senior year in 2019 she reached out to teachers, including Foote, while she was going through a difficult time. The woman said the relationship was "appropriate at first." The woman told police Foote started providing for her financially and giving her compliments on her appearance. She told investigators he would buy her clothes, buy her lunch and give her cash.
After she graduated, the woman said Foote began inviting her to his house, where he allegedly provided alcohol that they would consume together and then have sexual intercourse, according to court documents.
According to court documents, Rebecca Daughtery-Saunders, the principal at Ben Davis University High School, said she had a conversation with the girl about allegations of inappropriate contact with Foote while the girl was still a student. The girl initially denied anything happened but the girl later contact Daughtery-Saunders and admitted to having a sexual relationship with Foote, according to the court documents.
In court documents, Daughter-Saunders said she had reprimanded Foote "several times for boundary issues with students."
Foote was employed at the school for at least eight years before resigning in January 2020 after the school's investigation into the allegations began.
The Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township issued the following statement:
The MSD of Wayne Township has learned that a former teacher in the district, Robert Foote, has been arrested. When we were made aware of allegations by a student against Mr. Foote, we notified both the Indiana Department of Child Services and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Mr. Foote has not been employed by the MSD of Wayne Township since January 24, 2020.
