Georgia Teacher and Middle School Boy

(Walton County, Georgia) A 31-year-old teacher at Carver Middle School, Noelle Pannell, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly engaging in inappropriate contact with a male middle school student.

Pannell faces charges of sexual exploitation and child molestation.

“It’s difficult to understand for anybody,” said Capt. Chris Cannon with the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.

Walton County investigators said the parents of a seventh-grade boy discovered something was going on between their son and Pannell on the Internet. “Most of the communication was via MySpace. However, there was some face-to-face physical contact,” said Cannon.

Cannon said there was no evidence that Pannell and the boy had sex.

Pannell was booked into custody at the Walton County Jail and later released on bond.