Phoenix high school teacher indicted for sex crimes against male students

PHOENIX — A Phoenix high school teacher who was arrested in April for sex crimes against male students was indicted, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) announced on Monday.

Eric Curtis Chapman, 43, was charged with 20 counts, all of which were Class 2 felonies:

• Nine counts of sexual conduct with a minor
• One count of sexual exploitation of a minor
• Ten counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, classified as a dangerous crime against children.

Chapman’s arrest was prompted by a tip the Phoenix Police Department received from a social media provider via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip said he had been enticing an account that had self-identified as a minor, MCAO said.

What crimes was the Phoenix high school teacher accused of?

Chapman, who is from Surprise, taught at Cortez High School, which is near 31st and Dunlap avenues, ABC15 reported.

Court documents accused Chapman of filming himself sexually abusing a 16-year-old student in an alley near the boy’s home a week before his arrest.

Chapman also allegedly sexually assaulted a 17-year-old victim on campus, according to court documents.

Investigators found that Chapman also filmed himself having sex with a former student inside his current classroom, according to court documents.

Although that student is now an adult, Chapman began sexually abusing him while he was a minor, court documents said.

Investigators also found Chapman saved various files depicting children being sexually abused, court documents said. He allegedly claimed to prefer boys around 7 and 8 years old.

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