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Color guard director at MHS quits after accusation of soliciting sex

An employee of Marietta City Schools has resigned after being accused of sexual misconduct with a former student.

Jeremy Grosklos, 39, who directed the color guard at the high school and previously was a band and choir instructor, is under investigation on allegations that he solicited sex for money from a recent Marietta High School graduate on Oct. 17 after buying the student dinner, according to a news release from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The complainant was a former student of Grosklos in the band course, the release said. The victim had confided in Grosklos about personal problems and described Grosklos as someone who would listen, according to the release.

The complainant is no longer a student at Marietta High School, superintendent Will Hampton said. Sheriff Larry Mincks said the complainant was a male over 18 years old.

The Times does not publish the names of possible victims of sex crimes.

The complainant, the release said, “met with Grosklos at his residence, went to dinner with him, and afterwards returned to (Grosklos’) Browns Road residence. The complainant, the release said, “advised that when they returned to Marietta, Grosklos drove … around town for about an hour” and solicited sex acts for money, after which they returned to his residence.

The complainant refused several such requests, the release said, and later left the residence.

The complaint was filed Friday, the sheriff’s office said, and the complainant provided investigators with a record of text messages to support the allegations, including texts about some ideas for making steady regular cash if the victim was interested.

The sheriff’s office said they spoke to Grosklos at his residence and told him they had seen the text messages, after which Grosklos, according to the news release, admitted offering the complainant money for sexual favors.

Soliciting is a third-degree misdemeanor. The Marietta Municipal Court clerk’s office for traffic and criminal court said Wednesday morning that a summons had been issued for Grosklos to appear in court at 9 a.m. Nov. 15 to answer the charge.

Grosklos, according to classmates.com, graduated from Marietta High School in 1996.

Marietta City Schools said Grosklos was hired in August 2011 after working for a time as a substitute teacher. His function was to oversee online classes in the district’s “The Tiger Academy” program, Hampton said.

Grosklos also performed supplementary work, acting as junior class advisor, assistant band director, High Schools That Work site coordinator, yearbook adviser and technology advocate.

A search of Washington County and Marietta Municipal court records showed no convictions or cases involving Grosklos.

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