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Christopher Coolidge Bailey, 47, was charged with felony committing a sex act by a substitute parent and felony incest, according to the ��ɫ�� Department of Public Safety.

Bailey was suspended without pay by the school system within hours of his arrest, according to a statement from Burke County Public Schools. He is facing termination.

��ɫ�� Public Safety notified Burke County Public Schools of Bailey’s arrest around 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 15, the statement from the school system said.

Within two hours of his arrest, the school system served Bailey with a formal notice of charges and suspended him without pay Friday afternoon.

He was issued a notice of termination and it was recommended to the Burke County Board of Education that he be fired. The board will make the final decision in a monthly personnel report, Burke County Public Schools Public Information Officer Cheryl Shuffler said. The next regular board meeting is Oct. 6.

Bailey was hired by the school system in 2021, Shuffler said.

“The news of these allegations and charges is both shocking and heartbreaking,” Superintendent Mike Swan said in the school system statement. “We are working closely with law enforcement and will continue to assist them in any way possible as their investigation moves forward. Our number one priority is the safety of our students. To our knowledge, no alleged acts occurred on any Burke County Public Schools campus and the arrest did not occur on school grounds.”

The statement said the school system conducts background checks on all potential employees prior to hiring. If criminal allegations arise during employment, the district cooperates with law enforcement.

State law requires that if a district is aware of a violation of criminal law by an educator, they report the educator to the State Board of Education to determine if a revocation of their teaching license is appropriate, the statement said.

Public safety Lt. Nick Edwards said detectives have investigated whether there are other victims but currently have no evidence of any as of Tuesday.

What is he accused of?

The ��ɫ�� Department of Public Safety said officers were sent to a home on July 31 about an alleged sexual assault. Officers spoke with a juvenile victim who said she had been sexually assaulted by her adopted father, according to the release.

Investigators conducted several interviews and seized electronic evidence, the release said.

During the investigation it was determined that Bailey was the adopted father of the victim.

Bailey was arrested after an interview at public safety headquarters, according to the release.

Bailey was taken to the Burke County Jail where he is being held under a $100,000 bond. His first court date was Monday in Burke County.