South Carolina teacher accused of stalking and writing love letters to 11-year-old student

A former “Teacher of the Year” at a South Carolina elementary school is accused of stalking an 11-year-old student by sending her dozens of love letters and convincing her to join her church, police say.

Dylan Robert Dukes, who taught at Starr Elementary School, allegedly wrote the young girl more than 60 love letters, gave her cards and gifts and gave her “unwanted hugs” that made her uncomfortable, according to an arrest warrant obtained by WIS-TV.

Before summer vacation this year, Dukes gave the girl a personalized box with a letter for each day of the week for her to read during school holidays, authorities said.

When he learned that she would no longer be attending his school, he recently began showing up at her church.

When detectives became aware of the creepy behavior, they searched Duke’s classroom and found numerous pictures of the child in his desk.

They pointed out that the photos were not of a sexual nature.

Dukes was charged with stalking and taken to the Anderson County Detention Center.

“We are fortunate that this is the only charge,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Investigators were able to stop the harassment and stalking before it became physical – something the juvenile was afraid of.”

He appeared in court virtually on Thursday wearing a Starr Elementary School T-shirt.

The victim’s parents spoke at the hearing, saying they feared for their daughter’s safety and were concerned about Duke’s access to their family, WIS-TV reported.

“My child has received love letters countless times from a grown man,” the girl’s desperate mother said in court.

“He began attending my child’s extra-school activities,” she continued. “He began attending our church. I now realize that this access to my child only fueled his obsession.”

Dukes’ attorney pointed out that her client was named Teacher of the Year for 2023 and urged that his client be released on bail because there is no risk of flight.

But the girl’s father protested against his release.

“Given Mr. Dukes’ unrestricted access to our family over the years and the unknown intentions of his obsession, I cannot feel confident that he will put my family in danger,” the father said.

The judge ordered Dukes to pay $50,000 bail and said he would not be allowed to have any further contact with the victim or his family if released.

Prison records show he had not been released from prison as of Thursday evening.