SUTTONS BAY — Elijah George was sentenced to eight months in jail, five years probation, fines, and is a registered sex offender after pleading guilty to taking photos of a female student in her underwear.
George, 26, a former Glen Lake Community Schools band director, was sentenced for using a computer to commit a crime and surveilling an unclothed person after four other counts were dismissed. Both charges are felonies and George will be serving both jail sentences concurrently.
George pleaded guilty June 3 after admitting he took photos at school of a minor in her underwear. The photos were on George’s iPhone, which Jesse Williams, George’s attorney, described as having computer-like capabilities.
The Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office received a Jan. 24 call about a teacher “possibly taking inappropriate photos of students,” according to a previously released news statement.
Two days later, George resigned.
On Jan. 29, Glen Lake Community Schools Superintendent Jason Misner sent a letter to parents in which he stated that George, who was a band director for sixth-grade through 12th-grade students, had resigned amid the allegations.
“We received an allegation that this employee was capturing pictures of students without their consent in the classroom,” Misner said. “We quickly began an investigation in partnership with local law enforcement to ensure the safety and security of our students.”
George was arrested Feb. 15 in Marysville, a small city south of Port Huron in St. Clair County.
According to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Record-Eagle to Glen Lake Community Schools, a Feb. 21 letter in George’s personnel file stated that the school found he tried to delete content from his phone after he was asked to step outside a classroom. He then accessed the same phone when he was asked not to by the school’s superintendent and principal.
School officials said they found George had used his camera to “photograph students in an inappropriate manner in the classroom.” And, in an unrelated incident, George said he took female students to a gas station in his car.
In a Feb. 21 letter to George, Misner wrote: “This letter is an official unprofessional conduct document that will remain in your personnel file. We have also begun an appeal to the Michigan Department of Education for revocation of your teaching certificate.”
As of Tuesday, the Michigan Department of Education still lists George’s teaching certificate as active. It’s set to expire 6/30/2025.
The Record-Eagle was unable to reach George’s attorney for comment.
After state laws regarding sex-offender registration were changed in July 2011, defendants who are convicted of Tier 1 crimes, like George, must register on a private law enforcement database once a year for 15 years – at which point they are then removed from the list.