Former AIDB employee Robert Godbold charged with sexually abusing student
Fox 6 News in Alabama reported that a former employee at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB) was arrested and charged with sexually abusing a student under the age of 12 while he was working at the school.
The accused person’s name is Robert Godbold.
Local news “The Daily Home” reported that he was “charged with sodomy in the first degree and a sex act with a student by a school employee.” The report said a police official said that “Godbold is accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy on at least two occasions at Godbold’s residence, once in early June and once in late September of 2022. The victim reported the abuse to school officials after the September incident.”
According to Godbold’s LinkedIn account, he has been a teacher at ASD since September 2019.
AIDB said in a statement that they were “first notified of the possible impropriety on September 26, 2022” and that they immediately put the employee on administrative leave and barred him from working at the school in any capacity. The school said it immediately reported the information to the City of Talladega Police Department and has cooperated fully with investigations. AIDB explained on its Facebook page that the victim is “a student enrolled at Alabama School for the Deaf. The criminal sexual activity did not occur on AIDB property.”
The representative said the school is providing ongoing counseling and support to any student or staff requesting it.
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Online records said Godbold is out of jail on a $100,000 bond and is set to appear in court on March 7. It is not clear if he entered a plea already or not.
“The Daily Home” explained that “sodomy in the first degree is a class A felony in Alabama, punishable upon conviction by 10 to 99 years or life in prison.”
One person familiar with Godbold shared with “The Daily Moth” that he was known in the community as a Christian preacher who would teach classes or give sermons. There are multiple videos on social media of Godbold teaching Biblical lessons. Several people also sent in messages that Godbold used to work at other deaf schools or deaf education programs prior to working at AIDB.
https://www.facebook.com/AlabamaInstituteforDeafandBlind/videos/931613057832687/