May 24, 2018  |  12:30 pm

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested a former William Pitcher Junior High School special education teacher Thursday morning (May 24) on multiple counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.

Detectives began investigating Michael Williams (DOB 11/7/1988) of Covington initially after a concerned parent contacted the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office about a teacher giving her son a ride in his personal vehicle without her permission.

A second parent contacted detectives to report the teacher had sent her son text messages, which included offensive and inappropriate language.

The investigation into Williams, revealed that he had on occasion smoked marijuana with some students, had sent multiple students multiple text messages using indecent language, and on at least one occasion had provided a student with a ride in his personal vehicle without the parent’s permission.

Finding probable cause for Williams’ arrest, Judge William Burris of the 22nd Judicial Court signed a warrant late Wednesday evening (May 23).

Williams was arrested Thursday morning without incident and will subsequently be booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail on eight counts of LRS 14:92 Contributing to the Delinquency of a Juvenile. ​

“While an arrest of this type is alarming, my office will thoroughly investigate any legitimate concern involving the violation of our children’s trust by any person with authority,” said Sheriff Randy Smith.