A teacher in Providence, Rhode Island, is facing charges of rape and child pornography.
A city spokesman tells NBC10 Boston affiliate WJAR that 50-year-old Joseph Gannon was taken into custody at Nathanael Greene Middle School by Providence police around noon Friday.
Gannon is facing one count of first-degree sexual assault and one count of producing or transferring child pornography, WJAR reports.
According to police, Gannon's accuser recently came forward with allegations that Gannon sexually assaulted her over several years, starting when she was a student of Gannon's in middle school, WJAR reports.
It wasn't immediately clear if the alleged assaults occurred while Gannon was teaching at Nathanael Green.
The superintendent for Providence Public Schools addressed the situation in a letter, saying the school district had filed a suspected child abuse or neglect report with the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
"At this time, the employee has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation, and I have shared all of the information that state and federal laws regarding employee privacy permit me to share," the superintendent's letter said, which was obtained by WJAR. "PPSD will continue to work closely with police as they conduct their investigation."
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Gannon is scheduled to appear in court Monday. It wasn't clear if he had obtained an attorney.
