ST ANN, Mo. — A former teacher in the Pattonville School District is charged with two felonies for inappropriate contact with children.
Court documents show Jonathan Striebel is accused of having and distributing an image of a child.
Some of his former students said they’re not shocked by this and they united on social media. They're now adults and said they've been sharing stories with police and with the school district regarding their former English teacher.
"He was the favorite teacher… everyone wanted to be in his classroom,” said a former Holman Middle School student who asked to not be identified.
She spoke out after learning her 6th grade teacher is now accused of sex crimes with a child.
Court documents reveal former teacher Jonathan Striebel is accused of possessing and distributing a nude image of a girl in a bathroom between 2021 and 2024.
"He always gravitated towards females, always kind of singled them out in the classroom, the hallway, in the after school club that he ran,” the former student added.
She is a moderator in a Facebook group called Students Against Striebel, where there are more than 300 members.
"Just talking about past experiences with him… he would pick out 2 to 3 students a year that if he was in 6th grade, he would try to ask them out… he had a list going,” she added.
Another former student shared a message she said Striebel sent her just last week: "Hey, stupid question. Your relationship isn’t open is it?" She says she immediately blocked him.
"Unfortunately we have to put a lot of boundaries in place because there are people who cross those boundaries,” said Heidi Suguitan with Safe Connections, a local nonprofit that helps victims of domestic and sexual abuse.
Suguitan said she hears about these situations more than she'd like to. "They might act more on a peer level with students, which may make them seem pretty cool," she said. "They might talk about adult topics with students, which might make students feel they're getting access to the adult world."
She said it's up to the community to look for red flags and support victims.
“It can be a little scary to make a report: maybe you don't want to get this person in trouble, maybe they are the fun teacher but you have to consider that whatever's happening to you could be happening to other students as well,” Suguitan added.
"I think there's going to be more to it. I think there's going to be more charges added eventually,” the former student said.
Striebel resigned from Holman Middle last year after working there since 2006. He's booked on a $100,000 cash only bond and is due in court next month.
In a letter to parents, Pattonville Superintendent Barry Nelson wrote:
Dear Pattonville families,
On Monday, we notified families that the district was made aware of a social media post referencing a Holman Middle School staff member who resigned in 2023. Today, we learned that this former employee, Jonathan Striebel, has been arrested and charged with possession of and promoting child pornography. The district is saddened to learn about this. Due to the nature of these charges, we want to assure our families that, during his time in Pattonville, the district never received any reports related to the type of behavior described in these charges.
Because this is an active police investigation, if you have any additional concerns related to this case, please contact the Bridgeton Police Department at (314) 739-7557.