Teacher Tied Up and Beat Students At His Home

Salisbury High teacher accused of tying up, beating students

NewsChannel 36

Posted: Friday, Mar. 26, 2010

SALISBURY, N.C. - A Salisbury High School teacher is accused of tying up students at his home. One boy says he was hit with a baseball bat and accusers say the bizarre encounters were videotaped.

Bill Lee, the teacher, has been a coach and teacher at the city's high school for three decades. But now he's suspended from his job as police try to sort out exactly what happened inside his home.

“It's quite disturbing actually,” said Rob Anderson, a junior at Salisbury High School.

He knows Lee, who is known to invite young athletes to his home for weight training.

“I have many friends that actually do and none of those, they haven't said a thing,” Anderson said.

Salisbury police were approached by a former student who says he was invited to lift weights in Lee’s garage. That's where the teacher allegedly poured ice cold water on the teen and punched him in the stomach several times. The accuser, who only recently came forward, says that encounter happened 11 years ago. When detectives began looking into the claims, they found two other boys with similar stories. One teen says the teacher hung fabric from the rafter in his attic and hung the student from his wrists.

In an affidavit obtained by NewsChannel 36, the accuser, known as witness two, told police as he hung from the fabric in the attic, Lee hit him in the stomach with a wooden baseball bat.

No one answered the door at the teacher's home Thursday. He's been suspended from Salisbury High School while police look into the allegations.

And one current student says the claims are very different from the man he views as a mentor.

“No, not the person I know,” said Anderson. “Definitely not.”

Newschannel 36 obtained a copy of the search warrant, which says detectives removed a baseball bat, fabric strips and videotapes from the teacher's home.

But as of right now, Lee is not charged with a crime. He's been suspended with pay from Salisbury High School since February 19; the day after police searched his home. Police will refer the case to the North Carolina attorney general's office to decide whether charges will be filed.

Rowan County District Attorney Bill Kenerly has asked the state to look into the allegations because he is friends with the teacher.