Teacher charged with sex assaults

Harvey Knotts, 40, faces seven counts of sexual assault against pupils under 12 at an elementary school in the U.S.

He is also wanted for questioning in relation to an alleged sex attack on a female student in Bermuda in 2007.

He left the island before police could speak to him.

The teenager was the daughter of a former police officer. Mr. Knotts, a U.S. citizen, left a Bermudian wife and two children when he fled the island.

He was charged last week at a court in Huntsville, Alabama, over the alleged attacks against students at McDonnell Elementary School.

Huntsville police said Mr. Knotts is accused of abusing five children at the school.

He was remanded in Madison County Jail with a bail bond set at $140,000.

Bermuda police said: “There is an active investigation involving Harvey Knotts. He is a person of interest to us.”

Mr. Knotts graduated from Huntsville’s Oakwood University in 2003 with a BA in education.

Dr. Ann Roy Moore, the school superintendent, said Mr. Knotts was put on “administrative leave” as soon as the allegations surfaced. She then contacted police.

She added: “The moment we hear of anything, even though it may be an allegation, we instantly take a serious look at what is going on.