Former NHCS middle school band teacher found guilty of 17 child sex abuse crimes

Former Roland-Grise Middle School band teacher Peter Frank was convicted of 17 sexual offenses in Bladen County court Tuesday, May 17, 2022.
Former Roland-Grise Middle School band teacher Peter Frank was convicted of 17 sexual offenses in Bladen County court Tuesday, May 17, 2022.

ELIZABETHTOWN — It took less than 30 minutes for the 12-member jury to reach a unanimous verdict.

Former Roland-Grise Middle School band teacher Peter Frank, 49, was found guilty of 17 sex abuse crimes in Bladen County court Tuesday afternoon. Frank's sentencing will be held Thursday morning.

Frank was convicted of four counts of statutory sex offense with a person 13, 14 or 15 years old; two counts of first-degree sex offense; seven counts of indecent liberties with a child; three counts of indecent liberties with a student; and one count of sexual activity with a student.

Frank's trial started last week in Bladen County — moved from New Hanover County due to the publicity around the case. The case was prosecuted by the North Carolina Attorney General's office, due to a conflict of interest with the New Hanover County District Attorney's Office.

After two days of jury selection and more than three days of witness testimony, the jury deliberated and reached a verdict Tuesday afternoon.

"Protecting kids is job one for us all," Attorney General Josh Stein said in a tweet following the verdict. "That means keeping them safe from abuse whether they're at home, online, at camp, or at school."

Frank did not testify at trial.

"This trial was incredibly difficult for the victims and their families – I thank them for their bravery and hope this verdict gives them some measure of justice and helps them to continue healing," Stein tweeted.

Previous reporting:

During the seven-day trial, three of Frank's victims took the stand to testify to the physical and romantic relationships they had with him when they were middle school students from 1998 to 2004.

The StarNews typically does not name victims of alleged sexual assault.

The primary witness in the case — a now-35-year-old woman who testified she and Frank were in a romantic relationship when she was a middle school student in his band class — testified last week.

The Bladen County Courthouse is pictured on Monday, May 16, 2022, in Elizabethtown.
The Bladen County Courthouse is pictured on Monday, May 16, 2022, in Elizabethtown.

She was 11 years old to 14 years old when she was a student of Frank's, she said. He was between 25 and 27 years old at the time.

The victim testified Frank kissed and touched her inappropriately over her seventh and eighth grade years.

A second victim also testified last week, outlining the relationship she and Frank had when she was 14 years old. On Monday, a third victim testified, claiming Frank spoke to her sexually, alluded to oral sex and touched her inappropriately when she was a middle schooler.

The lead investigator in the case, detective Matthew Whitt with the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office, also testified Monday when the state presented physical evidence to corroborate the victims' testimonies.

Frank taught at the school until he was arrested and charged in January 2020. He was fired shortly after.

Frank was one of three teachers arrested over a two-year period for allegedly committing sex crimes with his students — Michael Kelly was taken into custody in February 2018 and later pleaded guilty to 59 charges for sex crimes, and Nicholas Oates was arrested in July 2018 but died before heading to trial.

Attorneys representing Kelly and Frank's victims in a civil lawsuit seeking damages from the New Hanover County Board of Education released a statement following the verdict.

"This is just another example of where our district has failed our students and continues to do so by not taking the appropriate steps to help these survivors rather than focus on elections and reporting designed to provide cover to the district in the event of future cases," Jim Lea of the Lea/Schultz Law Firm said in the statement.

"With today’s verdict, the civil case against Frank will move forward to trial," the statement said.

Jamey Cross is the public safety reporter at the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter @jameybcross.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Jury finds ex NHCS band teacher guilty of 17 sex abuse crimes