License revoked for former Bryant band teacher accused of sexual assault

By Matt Burks

The Arkansas State Board of Education confirmed to The Saline Courier today that a former band teacher at Bryant High School had his teaching license revoked during a Monday meeting.
The 36-year-old James Chad Green resigned from his position with the Bryant School District on Oct. 24 and voluntarily surrendered to authorities on Oct. 31. He was charged with first-degree sexual assault and was released from the Saline County jail under a $25,000 sheriff’s bond.

Sgt. Todd Crowson of the Bryant Police Department previously confirmed with the Courier that Green had been under investigation since December of 2011 and said the case was referred to the Saline County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Oct. 16.
Crowson told the Courier in January that the victim was 15 when the alleged incidents occurred. He also said the department received “full cooperation” from the Bryant School District.
“Student safety is a high priority for the Bryant Police Department and for the school district, which is why we are doing a thorough investigation,” Crowson said in January.
Green is the second Bryant instructor to be charged this year with sexual assault. On Oct. 3 former ninth-grade English teacher Courtney Speer voluntarily surrendered to authorities at the Saline County jail following accusations that she had had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old Bryant High School student.
The 31-year-old Speer was formally charged with six counts of sexual assault of a minor. Speer was released from jail under a $20,000 sheriff’s bond and is scheduled to appear in Benton District Court on Dec. 18.
Speer has been accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old Bryant High School student. The case stems from a joint investigation involving both the Benton and Bryant police departments because incidents allegedly occurred in both jurisdictions — in the school parking lot in Bryant and at Speer’s home in Benton. She is facing several felony counts of sexual assault in the first degree.
The Courier will continue to report these stories as they develop.