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A Terrebonne Parish grand jury will likely have the final word on whether enough evidence exists to prosecute a high school teacher and track coach in connection with allegations that he had a sexual encounter with a student and exposed the boy to the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome).
Derrick Nesby, 37, is being held at the Terrebonne Parish jail in lieu of a $1 million bond following his arrest last week.
Nesby had served for less than a year as a track coach and science teacher at HL Bourgeois High School, the latest venue in a career that saw him teaching or coaching in eight schools over a period of as many years, in Louisiana and Georgia.
Initially, he was booked for carnal knowledge of a juvenile. A charge of “intentional exposure to the AIDS virus,” which carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, was added.
The carnal knowledge charge was then upgraded to the crime of molestation by an educator, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years.
The law barring exposure of a person to the HIV virus without their consent does not require transmission, only the exposure.
Terrebonne Parish School Superintendent Philip Martin confirmed Nesby has been fired from his position with the parish.
According to relatives and friends, Nesby denies that the alleged incident occurred, and is emphatic that he has always been conscientious about informing anyone he might have relations with of his HIV status.
But Terrebonne Parish officials find the allegations credible.
“I have been briefed by the detectives,” said District Attorney Joe Waitz Jr. “From the information I have, I am confident in the case. We will probably go to a grand jury.”
“We believe the allegations were truthful and that’s why he was charged,” Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry Larpenter said.
The 16-year-old alleged victim notified an official at the school last month, according to Martin.
“We took immediate action and notified law enforcement,” he said.
Detectives questioned Nesby on May 9, officials said. Subsequent to that they obtained warrants. Nesby was arrested at the school last Wednesday after arriving there to collect his belongings.
Nesby’s HIV status was voluntarily disclosed, Larpenter said, leading to the exposure charge.
Waitz said it is his understanding that the disclosure was made because Nesby needed medication related to his condition.
Larpenter said the alleged act, which did not involve physical force, occurred on school property.
Detectives are communicating with New Orleans investigators, Sheriff Jerry Larpenter said, to determine whether students at schools where Nesby previously taught were molested.
“There is a possibility that some other individuals may come forward,” the sheriff said.
When Nesby went to the school to retrieve his belongings last week, he was with three young men – a 19-year-old, 16-year-old and 13-year-old, Larpenter said.
New Orleans detectives, he said, are investigating where any of those individuals were victims of crimes committed by Nesby.
“Their parents were notified,” Larpenter said.
Nesby told relatives and friends that two people accompanied him to the school, a 23-year-old friend and the friend’s younger brother.
Friends of Nesby said they believed him to be a dedicated and good teacher.
They attribute his hopscotching career as the result of poor decisions he made at the schools where he previously taught.
A longtime friend of Nesby’s spoke on the condition that she not be identified because she and others close to him have received threats following television coverage of the case in the New Orleans area.
According to her, Nesby drove students home in his own vehicle if practices ran late and they did not have a ride.
Relatives said Nesby also had difficulty drawing the line between friendship and his role as an educator. This, they said, led to misunderstandings.
For example, they said students who received low grades or failed classes did not understand how a teacher who befriended them with talk of PlayStation games could do such a thing.
It was just such a situation, those who know Nesby maintain, that led to the accusations he now faces.
The student at the core of the case was reportedly angered by a failing grade in Nesby’s science class, according to those close to the former teacher. Neither school officials nor law enforcement authorities would confirm that scenario.
Nesby grew up in the Algiers section of New Orleans, friends said.
His mother, Hazel Williams, refused to discuss the case but a family friend said the retired nurse is devastated by his arrest.
Mother and son lived in a rented house near the Treme neighborhood, and Nesby commuted to and from work each day while he was at HLB.
Martin said Nesby, like all other teachers in Terrebonne, would have undergone a screening process prior to being hired.
He had no criminal record and is licensed by the Louisiana Department of Education to teach. School officials also check references of teachers who apply. But issues such as a too-friendly attitude toward students, unless they are documented, are not likely to surface during background checks, he said.
Some educators said a career spanning eight schools in as many years should be a red-flag that problems exist, but Martin said he has seen many instances where such career histories were not indicative of a problem.
Larpenter said he is personally disturbed by the violation of trust that the allegations suggest.
“He is there in their lives every day,” Larpenter said of Nesby. “Whether as a track coach or a teacher, he is there as a mentor there to guide their education and education only, not any other life experience. He is there to teach them how to be a better person, not anything else of a sexual nature. That is not the curriculum.”
Derek Nesby, 37, a former science teacher and track coach at H.L. Bourgeois High School in Houma, remains jailed in Terrebonne Parish in lieu of a $1 million bond. He is accused of having a sexual encounter with a 16-year-old, exposing him to the AIDS virus in the process.
