MISSOULA — An elementary school teacher was arrested on Friday morning by police in Missoula.
Hellgate Elementary School teacher Scott Hamilton, 25, has been taken into custody on charges of Attempted Sexual Abuse of Children and Sexual Abuse of Children- Possession of Material.
The Missoula Police Department received information regarding the alleged offenses and immediately opened an investigation, according to MPD spokeswoman Lydia Arnold.
A search warrant was conducted at Hamilton’s home on Thursday and charges were subsequently filed with the Missoula County Attorney’s Office, according to a news release.
An arrest warrant was issued on Friday and Hamilton was taken into custody without incident.
“The Missoula Police Department continues to follow-up on all allegations of Internet Crimes Against Children and appreciates reporting by the public that helps facilitate thorough investigations,” Arnold said in a statement.
The investigation is being led by Detective J. Harris who is part of the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC.)
No further information is being released by the Missoula Police Department at this time.
Court documents state Hamilton interacted with a minor and received "sexually explicit" content from the minor.
"First of all, obviously they're very troubling charges to be leveled against any professional educator, and for the children that may or may not [be] involved in this it's a very, very difficult and disturbing situation," Hellgate Elementary Superintendent Doug Reisig told MTN News.
"We learned about the allegations this morning. Mr. Hamilton was taken into custody this morning by the Missoula Police Department. And as of right now, we have no knowledge that any of this misconduct occurred at school. We have no knowledge of any of it involved any of our students at school. And that, that none of it impacted students in his official capacity as a teacher at Hellgate Elementary, and of course we're working in partnership with the Missoula Police Department and they'll keep us apprised if things change, but that's the information that we have at this point." - Hellgate Elementary Superintendent Doug Reisig
"Out of caution and protection for our children, we're just going to remove him from any contact with any of our kids at this time," Reisig added.
A recorded message is being sent out to parents and Reisig noted that Hamilton is no longer allowed on school property.
Read the letter from Superintendent Reisig to parents below:
Good Afternoon. This is Doug Reisig, Superintendent of Hellgate Elementary.
I have something I need to share with you.
Today, The Hellgate Elementary School District administration learned about the troubling allegations involving Mr. Scott Hamilton, a Hellgate Elementary music teacher. The School District is not aware of any misconduct that occurred on district property or involving any district students. Moreover, there is no indication that the charges pending, in any manner, relate to conduct involving any Hellgate Elementary students, at this time.
The School District takes the allegations very seriously and will continue to monitor this situation. Mr. Hamilton will not be permitted to be present on Hellgate Elementary School District property and will not be serving any Hellgate Elementary students.
As always, as things continue to change, I will work to keep you as informed as possible.
Stay safe and healthy!