Former Wake high school teacher charged with assaulting students with disabilities
A now-former Wake County high school special-education teacher has been charged with assaulting two students with disabilities.
James Rencher III of Raleigh has been charged with 12 counts of assault on an individual with a disability, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday.
The incidents are alleged to have occurred in 2022 when Rencher taught at East Wake High School in Wendell.
The school district says Rencher no longer works for the Wake County Public School System.
The Sheriff’s Office said it received a report from the district about the alleged assaults and that Rencher was charged after a thorough investigation and consultation with the Wake County District Attorney’s Office.
‘Forcibly pushing the victim’
According to the arrest warrants, Rencher assaulted the two students by:
▪ Placing his arms on the student’s ankles to forcibly make him take steps against his will to walk down the stairs.
▪ Forcibly pushing the victim’s head forward as he entered the restroom.
▪ Using his hands to tighten a student’s belt “to absolute state of discomfort.”
▪ Gripping the student’s head with the palm of his hand “forcing the victim against his will to look down at his school assignment.”
▪ Using his hand to “forcibly grab the victim’s shirt jerking him backwards by the neck.”
▪ Using both of his hands “with excessive force to push the victim into the kitchen area.”
▪ Kicking a yoga ball “from underneath the victim while sitting” which caused the student to fall to the floor.
Rencher turned himself in on Friday and is being held at the Wake County jail on $100,000 bail.
He is among several Wake County special-education teachers or teacher assistants who’ve been charged this school year with assaulting students.
