WAYNESBORO — Recent arrests of noted Burke County educators on child obscenity charges have residents and parents shocked.

In less than a year, three teachers at Burke County High School in Waynesboro have been arrested on various charges including theft and child molestation.

Assistant football coach Eric Luke turned himself in related to charges most recently, involving theft by receiving stolen property.

Debra Tanksley, 38, was arrested on charges of sending inappropriate text messages to a student.  She was the 2013 Burke County Teacher of the Year.  She didn’t appear for her arraignment in December and a warrant was issued for her arrest, according to a report.  She is still at large.

Finally, in May, Ashley Ashe, 26, was charged with sexual assault, also involving a student.  She was an English teacher.  She pleaded guilty in Burke County Superior Court to two charges of sexual assault against a person in school and is serving a seven-year sentence at the Pulaski State Prison.  Once that is completed, she will then serve 8 years of probation.

Tanksley and Ashe have already been fired by Burke County Schools.  Luke is on administrative leave pending an investigation.

In a report in the Florida Times Union, a 2014 Burke County High School graduate, Shaneka Tolbert, stated, “When I was at Burke County, three of the best teachers I had were Mrs. Ashe, Mrs. Tanksley and Mr. Luke.”

The Sheriff’s office applauded the efforts taken by the school system to find and charge the teachers and get them away from the students, according to the report by the Florida Times Union.