Teacher accused of sexually abusing sixth-grade boy found dead

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia teacher accused of sexually abusing a DeKalb County middle-school student was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday afternoon, police said.

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Zachary Meadors, 28, of Lawrenceville, was found dead in a vehicle in the 1200 block of Scenic Highway around 5:15 p.m., Gwinnett County police said in a news release.

He was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a sixth-grade male student at Freedom Middle School, according to an arrest warrant by DeKalb County police. He faced charges of child molestation, computer pornography and child exploitation, WSB-TV reported.

>> On AJC.com: Teacher accused of having sex with middle-school student

He was a sixth-grade English teacher at the school in Stone Mountain, and he had worked there for two years, WSB-TV reported. He was placed on unpaid administrative leave on Friday.

His parents filed a missing persons report Monday with police after Meadors left letters and an iPad at his parents’ front door. He was last seen Saturday.

The missing persons report said Meadors apologized for his relationship with the student and asked his parents to divide his money among family members, WSB-TV reported.

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