Former Teacher Of Year Sentenced For Student Sexual Assault: Cops

WOODSTOCK, GA — A former Cobb County Teacher of the Year pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a student, the Cherokee County District Attorney said.

District Attorney Shannon Wallace said that Spencer Wayne Herron, 50, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of sexual assault of a student. The charges relate to an incident that occurred in July 2016, when Herron brought a 16-year-old Kell High School student to the Woodstock Microtel Inn & Suites for the purpose of sexual intercourse.

During the plea hearing today, Judge John Sumner sentenced Herron to six years, with the first five years to be served in confinement. During probation, Herron is forbidden from having contact with the victim and must adhere to sex offender conditions that include no contact with any minors.

The Cherokee County sentence will run concurrent to the sentence he received in Cobb County, where he pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault of a student and received a sentence of 20 years, with the first five to serve in confinement.

Herron was named the Teacher of the Year for Kell High School during the 2016-17 school year, the district shows on its website.

"Selected from among their peers, Cobb Schools' Teachers of the Year are among the best and most celebrated educators in our district," Cobb Schools said online. "Highlighted for their expert use of instructional and academic strategies, the list of TOTYs represents Cobb's most distinguished and well-respected professionals. They are known as teacher leaders, tireless champions of their students and mentors and coaches of their fellow educators and staff."