Teacher arrested, suspected of relationship with student

<p>A Franklin Community High School teacher has been arrested and is under investigation for an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student.</p><p>Alex J. Brickens, 28, of Franklin, has been arrested on one charge of child seduction, a level 5 felony, after high school students reported possible misconduct. The Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office will decide what, if any, charges to file.</p><p>Franklin police still are investigating the matter, but had probable cause to arrest Brickens on Tuesday, Chief Kirby Cochran said.</p><p>Because of the ongoing investigation, the police department cannot release information about the extent of the reported relationship, how long it had gone on or what evidence had been found, Cochran said. At the conclusion, the police department wants to have ensured the community that a thorough investigation has been conducted and the safety of children is paramount, he said.</p><p>Under Indiana law, a charge of child seduction is an accusation that a child care worker, such as a teacher, who is in a position of trust over a child had a sexual relationship with a child who is 16 or 17 years old.</p><p>Brickens was suspended immediately from his job at the high school, where he is a teacher in the music department and the assistant choir director, Superintendent David Clendening said. Brickens is not to come on school property while the matter is under police investigation and the school district moves through due process, Clendening said.</p><p>Brickens had just started his second school year with Franklin schools. He was previously a teacher and coach at Center Grove schools.</p><p>The investigation started on Monday morning, when students reported a possible relationship to school officials, according to a letter that Principal Steve Ahaus sent to parents of choir students this week. The school district is praising and protecting the students who came forward.</p><p>“We were able to deal with this issue because some very courageous students were willing to report what they had heard or knew,” Ahaus wrote in the letter. “It was not an easy decision for those students, but they absolutely did the right thing. We stress at every opportunity we have with students the importance of reporting what they hear and know. We are thankful for what these students did and want to make sure they are supported in the coming days.”</p><p>The school reported the information to the Franklin Police Department on Monday, and an investigation was immediately launched.</p><p>“We’re going to protect every kid in our district with diligence,” Clendening said.</p><p>Two detectives have been working on the case, Cochran said. On Tuesday, Brickens, of 1138 Fiesta Drive, was arrested and taken to the Johnson County jail. He had been released on $300 bond by Wednesday morning.</p><p>The high school students were told that while school officials couldn’t talk about the case, they wanted to help them cope with the situation and any emotions that surface, the letter said.</p><p>“We want to be able to help them in whatever way we can,” the letter said. “The actions that led to this arrest are not acceptable and not who we are at Franklin Community High School.”</p><p>Brickens taught at Center Grove Middle School Central from 2013 until May 2017. He continued as an assistant football coach at the school until October of 2017, according to school district records.</p><p>Center Grove had no reported issues involving students from Brickens’ time at the school district, spokeswoman Stacy Conrad said.</p><p>At the middle school, he worked as a teacher, choral director, assistant girls track coach, assistant football coach, music club sponsor and concert choir director.</p><p>He worked as a vendor, or independent contractor, assisting Greenwood schools with musicals or choir concerts occasionally in the past four to five years, Superintendent Kent DeKoninck said. He was not employed by the school district.</p>