HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Editor's note: A day after the above story aired, the former teacher turned himself in and now faces charges. The story below has been updated to reflect the new information.
A former SouthLake Christian Academy teacher is under investigation for an alleged inappropriate relationship with a student, but a search warrant reveals the Huntersville Police Department "did not investigate" a potential crime when someone first reported concerns more than six months ago.
WCNC Charlotte initially did not identify the teacher because he had not been charged with a crime. On Friday, Dec. 15, police in Cornelius announced his arrest. The former teacher is 26-year-old Tyler Dean Melton, now charged with felony sexual acts with a student and indecent liberties with a student. Police say he turned himself into the Mecklenburg County Detention Center and was issued a $10,000 secured bond.
Court records show Melton resigned from Southlake Christian Academy in April after the school put him on administrative leave, just days before Huntersville police first became aware of the possible relationship.
A Cornelius Police Department investigator noted a lack of action by Huntersville police multiple times in a September search warrant application seeking access to the former Melton's cellphone records.
"The Huntersville Police Department was made aware of the possibility of an inappropriate relationship on 05/03/2023 but did not investigate the matter ..." Detective John Lineberger wrote. "The caller explained to the Huntersville Police that the school was made aware of the situation and (the teacher) immediately resigned his position as a teacher at SLCA according to the caller. No further investigation was conducted by Huntersville Police Department at that time."
The search warrant alleges Melton and one of his underage students started as "friends," but their friendship evolved into "a romantic relationship" between April and May of 2023. The warrant said the two met almost daily in parking lots and eventually engaged in sexual activity, including on prom night. The warrant application alleges sexual acts occurred in both Huntersville and Cornelius.
In the detective's case for probable cause, he said the school asked Huntersville police to investigate the former teacher's work laptop, but the agency "declined to do anything with the laptop due to no open investigation." SLCA eventually asked the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to examine the laptop "after HPD declined to investigate." The NCSBI's review in June found the hard drive was wiped clean and there was no way to recover data, according to the warrant.
"This is an injustice," criminal defense attorney Aaron Lee said. "I think it's a dropping of the ball. I think it's unacceptable. It's disheartening that this happened and it makes you wonder why."
WCNC Charlotte asked Lee and longtime civil attorney Seth Langson separately to review the warrant and share their reactions. Langson, now retired, spent 36 years representing child victims of sex crimes. He said the vulnerable kids often need a third party to intervene.
"They deserve a full investigation," Langson said. "My gut reaction is (Huntersville police) should have been more active. I don't know how long it took them to get on it, but it should've been quickly. It should have been high priority."
In response to WCNC Charlotte's questions, the Huntersville Police Department acknowledged "the seriousness of this case" and defended its early handling of the situation.
"We did investigate in the sense that we were attempting to determine who a victim was in this case so we could validate whether a crime had taken place," Maj. Brian Vaughan said. "We did not conduct an investigation to the fact of bringing in victims, because we didn't have any."
Vaughan expressed confusion as to why Cornelius police stated the Huntersville department did not investigate.
"While this was indeed reported to us earlier this year, we had zero victims to interview," he said. "Everything reported to us was hearsay, where one person told another, who then told someone else. We were provided no potential victim names and were unable to substantiate the claims due to the lack of direct victim identifications. We do have this on record but it is part of the investigation now. Fast forward to August when a victim came forward and reported a crime that had taken place in Cornelius, putting us where we are today."
The search warrant said when the allegations went from an inappropriate relationship to sexual in nature in August, the school alerted the Huntersville Police Department and the Department of Social Services. Lineberger said Huntersville police then forwarded the new information to Cornelius police, at which time the juvenile and her mother met with Cornelius investigators.
"Our detectives are now working the Cornelius PD on this investigation, to determine timelines, locations of alleged crime(s), etc.," Vaughn said. "There was not sufficient evidence in our initial investigation to move forward. With this new information, and really because you helped bridge the contact, we are able to partner with our neighboring agency on this."
WCNC Charlotte reached out to SouthLake Christian Academy's director multiple times over several weeks. On Saturday, Dec. 16, the academy shared a statement sent to families that same day by Matthew Kerlin, the head of the school:
We know how much our students and families value close-knit relationships with our faculty and staff. Such mutually respectful relationships are a hallmark of our community. These relationships, however, must remain within healthy and appropriate boundaries. In this spirit, I want to share an update about former high school teacher Tyler Melton.
Mr. Melton resigned his position at SouthLake on April 29, 2023, less than 24 hours after the school placed him on leave and launched an investigation into reports he met off campus with a high school student. In coordination with local and state law enforcement authorities, our investigation continued over the summer. In late July, we received specific information suggesting that an inappropriate relationship had occurred. We immediately turned over all relevant details to the Cornelius Police Department, the alleged conduct having occurred in their jurisdiction, and we continue to cooperate fully with their investigation. Yesterday, the Cornelius Police Department obtained a warrant for Mr. Melton for Felony Sexual Acts with a Student and Indecent Liberties with a Student. Mr. Melton turned himself into the custody of the Mecklenburg County Jail.
Obviously, we are deeply disappointed by these events. We take with utmost seriousness the well-being of our students. All employees go through an extensive vetting process and comprehensive background check. We train our teachers on appropriate boundaries with students and expect them to uphold those standards on and off campus. We will continue to operate with the highest standards of integrity as a school. You can help us by providing any relevant information to me or a member of our staff, and by avoiding gossip that can be disruptive to our students and our educational environment.
If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to me, and I will help in every way possible. In the days ahead, please pray for those involved in this case.
Cornelius police declined to comment.
"This is an ongoing, active investigation so we cannot comment on this case at this time," CPD spokesperson Kristin Prescott said.
Contact Nate Morabito at nmorabito@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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