PICTURED: Shirtless mugshot of Tennessee elementary school ‘Teacher of the Year’, 50, after he was arrested ‘for raping and sexually abusing two children’
- Jonathan Ullrich, first-grade teacher from Tennessee, charged with aggravated sexual battery, incest, rape of a child and aggravated sexual exploitation
- Ullrich is accused of sexually abusing two relatives under age 13 from 2016 until November 2021
- Ullrich was named Teacher of the Year at Fairview Elementary School in 2020
- In 2014, Ullrich was removed from his post as principal of Longview Elementary School for making sexual comments to a female staffer
- Ullrich was arrested after hours-long standoff with sheriff’s deputies in the woods
An award-winning Tennessee elementary school teacher has been arrested and charged with repeatedly raping and sexually abusing two young relatives.
Jonathan Ullrich, 50, a first-grade teacher at Fairview Elementary School who was named Teacher of a Year in 2020, has been indicted on 27 counts, including aggravated sexual battery, incest, rape of a child and especially aggravated sexual exploitation.
Ullrich, who is seen shirtless in mugshot, has been suspended from work without pay.
Officials at Williams County Schools wrote in a statement that the accusations against the teacher are ‘horrific.’
Jonathan Ullrich, 50 (pictured shirtless in his booking photo), a first-grade teacher from Tennessee, has been charged with aggravated sexual battery, incest, rape of a child and aggravated sexual exploitation
Ullrich was named Teacher of the Year at Fairview Elementary School in February 2020
According to a Maury County Grand Jury indictment, Ullrich is accused of sexually abusing two children under the age of 13 between 2016 and November 2021, reported The Tennessean.
The victims in question were not students at Ullrich’s school. It has been reported that both children are related to the suspect.
Ullrich is accused of sexually abusing two relatives under age 13 from 2016 until November 2021
Ullrich has taught first grade at Fairview Elementary for seven years, where he has come to be known as a highly regarded educator.
‘He seemed like a nice gentlemen,’ Sheila Staggs, the mother of a student in the school system, told WJHL ‘He had a great reputation. He was actually teacher of the year last year, and he had a great rapport with the students.’
Prior to 2014, Ullrich had served as principal at Longview Elementary School for seven years until 2014, when he was abruptly removed from that post and reassigned to work at the district’s central office through the end of the school year.
It later emerged that Ullrich lost his job as a principal after making sexually charged comments to at least one female staff member.
After being suspended for three days and undergoing anti-harassment training, Ullrich was allowed to resume teaching at Fairview Elementary.
Ullrich has been suspended without pay from Fairview Elementary School, where he has taught for seven years
Earlier this month, deputies were serving warrants on Ullrich concerning unspecified civil matters, unrelated to the criminal charges, when he fled into the woods, sparking an hours-long standoff.
‘The charges filed against Mr. Ullrich in Maury County are horrific. The district has no indication that any of the charges out of Maury County are related to his work in WCS,’ Williamson County Schools said in a statement. ‘However, families who may have information to share with local law enforcement are encouraged to contact the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office.’
Ullrich was ordered held in the Maury County Jail on $200,000 bail. He is due back in court on January 4.
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