ALABASTER, Ala. — Children used to clamor to get into Danny Acker’s classes, and he was so popular he was once named his elementary school’s teacher of the year.
But authorities in this well-to-do Birmingham suburb are offering a different picture: a serial child molester who police say admitted sexually abusing more than 20 girls — some as young as 9 — over the course of a long career.
Clues emerged when Acker was investigated by a grand jury in the early 1990s, but he continued teaching. When he retired after 25 years, he was so well-regarded that the district kept him on as a substitute bus driver.
Now the community is questioning the trust it placed in Acker after a former female student alleged that Acker molested her in 2009.
School officials and former students in the community were shocked because many people knew Acker as a likable teacher. “He was my favorite teacher I ever had,” 21-year-old Jared Robertson said Friday.
Police arrested Acker on Thursday and on Friday added another count involving a second former female student.
District Attorney Robby Owens said the case remains under investigation and more charges are likely as police encourage any other victims to come forward.
“We’re barely scratching the surface here,” said Deputy Police Chief Curtis Rigney. “There is so much information we don’t know.”
Acker is jailed on $545,000 bail. His attorney did not return calls or e-mail.
