Gaston County teacher accused of sexually abusing a child

A Gaston County teacher is accused of drugging and sexually abusing a child he taught in Lincoln County. He faces similar charges in Catawba County, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

Maxwell Sidney Fletcher, 30, is accused of giving the boy, who was under 15, a “large amount of alcohol” and a pill, which incapacitated the child, and then sexually assaulting him, Detective David Hendrix said .

The attack, which allegedly took place in Fletcher’s home in Lincoln County, is believed to have happened several years ago, Hendrix said, but he declined to say when exactly it happened.

Fletcher was arrested Friday in Gaffney, South Carolina, and extradited to North Carolina, where he appeared in court Tuesday. He is accused of sexual offenses against a child under 15 years of age. His bail is $350,000.