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Editor’s note: This story contains reporting about a sexual assault, a topic that will be disturbing to some readers.
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A Cary man accused of sexually assaulting his Hinge date last fall is a Durham teacher with a history of domestic violence convictions, The News & Observer has learned.
Martin Michael Charlesworth, 54, was arrested Nov. 18 on charges of first-degree kidnapping, attempted second-degree forcible rape and three counts each of crime against nature and second-degree forcible sex offense, court records show. He posted a $75,000 secured bail bond three days later.
A Durham Public Schools spokesperson confirmed last month that Charlesworth is a DPS employee. He has been suspended without pay since Feb. 3, according to the spokesperson, who didn’t specify why. Further inquiries from The N&O had not received a response as of Wednesday.
Charlesworth also has worked as a teacher in Wake County, a Wake County Public Schools System spokesperson said. He was hired as a substitute teacher in February 2018 and worked at South Garner High School as a regular teacher from Aug. 1, 2021, until he resigned Nov. 15, 2021, according to the spokesperson.
Charlesworth made national headlines in 2013 when his ex-wife, Carie Charlesworth, was fired from her job at a San Diego-area Catholic school after he violated a domestic violence protective order by coming to the school. The school told Carie Charlesworth that Martin Charlesworth’s “threatening and menacing behavior has not changed but has actually increased over the past 20 plus years,” citing prior convictions in Alaska and California, ABC News reported.
California court records indicate Martin Charlesworth has pleaded guilty at least twice to charges related to domestic violence against his ex-wife, including a felony stalking charge. And Alaska court records show he pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault against at least two different women, including another ex-wife, between 1991 and 1994.
It’s not clear if either local school system was aware of Charlesworth’s prior convictions. A Wake County Public School System spokesperson said that was private personnel information under state law; Durham Public Schools didn’t address the question.
All WCPSS applicants are required to undergo a criminal background check, according to school board policy. If a final candidate is found to have prior criminal convictions or charges that aren’t minor traffic violations, the superintendent or a designee has the final say in whether they may be hired, the policy states.
The current charges against Charlesworth are tied to a Pittsboro assault reported in late September, according to a search warrant in the case. A woman reported she had met a man named “M” on Hinge and invited him to her house Sept. 22, the warrant states.
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While the woman and “M” were walking by a creek behind her home, the man “forcefully grabbed her by the arm and drug her through the creek to a bridge that was to the left of them,” the search warrant states. “M” then allegedly sexually assaulted the woman, who sustained bruises and scratches during the attack, according to the warrant.
“[The victim] stated that she then told ‘M’ to just leave her alone and to leave her residence, however, ‘M’ continued to drag her through the woods and briars,” the warrant states. “[The victim] stated that once they came back through the woods near the pond, ‘M’ then sprinted to his truck and started driving down the driveway.”
The woman didn’t initially report the assault because she was embarrassed, the warrant states. But she kept the clothes she was wearing that night and didn’t wash them, later turning them over to a Chatham County Sheriff’s Office detective. She was also able to describe “M”’s black pickup truck and show her recent WiFi connections, noting she’d connected to the WiFi in his truck.
When investigators checked a database of Flock cameras in the area at the time of the alleged assault, they saw a black Chevrolet pickup truck registered to Charlesworth, according to the search warrant. Investigators collected a DNA swab from him Oct. 16.
A Durham Public Schools webpage listed Charlesworth as a teacher at Shepard Magnet Middle School. DPS had not confirmed if that was accurate as of Wednesday.
In a March 2015 post on a domestic violence blog, Carie Charlesworth alleged Martin Charlesworth had abused her physically and emotionally from 2006 to 2011, including a strangulation attempt in 2009.
“One of his blows left a deep gash near Carie’s eye and it was only when Martin saw blood pouring down his wife’s face did he [sic] finally snap out of his rage,” the post states.
The couple separated in 2011 and divorced in 2013.
Martin Charlesworth remained out of jail on bail as of Wednesday afternoon. His next court date is set for August.
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