Former Putnam County teacher arrested, accused of lewd conduct with student

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — A 54-year-old Palatka man was arrested in North Carolina on Tuesday after being accused of sending inappropriate text messages to a child. Robert Bush Jr., a former QI Roberts Junior-Senior High School teacher, is charged with second-degree felony of authority figure soliciting or engaging in lewd conduct with a student.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

Some of the texts Bush sent to the student were sexual in nature, according to a Putnam County Sheriff’s Office news release. Bush went to the sheriff’s office Oct. 29 after an investigation was launched and deputies confiscated his phone.

Putnam authorities issued an arrest warrant for Bush on Tuesday, but he was in North Carolina. “While talking to Bush on the phone, he told detectives he was ‘out of town,’ and did not provide a date to return or complete an interview,” the news release states. Detectives with Putnam County Sheriff’s Office then contacted Transylvania County, North Carolina detectives who were able to locate Bush and arrest him, the news release states. Bush is being held in North Carolina on $150,000 bond.

According to the school district, Bush has taught at the district 15 years and started at QI Roberts in 2016. He has primarily taught in the high school portion of the school in several fields. When the investigation began, Bush was placed on administrative leave by the school district. During the investigation, Bush chose to resign before it was completed, the news release states.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.