© Provided by the Charlton County Sheriff's OfficeDaNita Wilson, a Charlton County High School teacher charged with having sex with students.
DaNita Wilson, 32, faces seven counts of sexual assault after a one-day investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said Stacy Carson, assistant special agent in charge of the GBI's Kingsland office.
Six of the students were at least 16 and one was younger than 16, Carson said.
"She turned herself in" at the Charlton County Sheriff's Office, which had requested the GBI's help, Carson said.
Carson said the investigation is ongoing.
County Magistrate Bob Phillips said Wilson appeared before him Wednesday morning and that he set her bail at $35,000.
Wilson's family signed a property bond and she was released about 1 p.m., the Sheriff's Office said.
County schools Superintendent John Lairsey said his office was investigating allegations and made contact with the Sheriff's Office and the GBI.
Lairsey declined to identify who complained to his office.
District Attorney Rick Currie said once the GBI has completed its work, he will review the file and take the case to the grand jury for indictment.
Although 16 is the age of consent in Georgia, having sex with a student is a felony regardless of the victim's age, Currie said.
The law was changed just a few years ago to include teachers and it forbids a person from having sex with someone over which they have supervisory or disciplinary authority, Currie said.
It carries a sentence of one to 25 years in prison and a fine up to $100,000, Currie said.
For having sex with a student under 16, the sentencing range goes from 25 to 50 years.
Lairsey said Wilson has been suspended and that his office will schedule a hearing before the school board within 10 days with a recommendation that she be terminated.
Hired in January 2003, Wilson taught ninth-grade math, Lairsey said.
Citing the privacy of the students, Lairsey declined to say whether Wilson taught any of the seven students.
"All I can say is they were students in the school, at this point," Lairsey said.
Wilson was at work Tuesday and remained at the school until noon, he said.
A 27-year veteran of the system and superintendent for two years, Lairsey said he could remember no other incident that involved so many students.
Well at least there was no guns involved. LMAO!