‘It’s just an internal panic’: Teen girl describes alleged sexual contact during former North Central High teacher’s trial

A 17-year-old girl testified Thursday that a North Central High School teacher inappropriately touched her and looked at her nude photos on her phone.

Andre Ervin, who turned 48 Thursday, is accused of inappropriate sexual conduct last March with two girls who were 16 and placed in Ervin’s in-school suspension class.

The former North Central boys basketball coach was charged with suspicion of sexual misconduct, possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and two counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

The girl who testified in Ervin’s trial Thursday said she was not close with Ervin, calling him “just another teacher,” but that most students described him as “fun” and “cool,” and she wanted to get to know him better.

She said Ervin, who wore a black tie and black long-sleeved dress shirt Thursday, was in charge while she attended several days of in-school suspension at the end of March 2023.

On March 28, she said Ervin passed her a note on a sheet of paper that asked how she was feeling that day.

She responded in writing on the same piece of paper that she really wanted to smoke and that she liked a boy. She said Ervin then asked in writing how she felt about him.

She told the court she thought he meant how she felt about him as a teacher, so she responded in writing that Ervin was cool.

The girl said in court documents that Ervin then wrote a note asking, “Are we flirting?” She wrote back insinuating they were.

Shortly after the note passing, the teen testified Thursday Ervin crouched next to her and put his hand on her thigh. She said she did not ask him to come to her desk and did not need help with her schoolwork.

She said he was “slowly rubbing” her thigh and his hand slowly crept upward. With one hand on her thigh, she said Ervin placed his other hand inside her long-sleeved crop top and touched her breast.

She said his cold hand on her skin made her flinch.

The teen said she loved the shirt she was wearing at the time, but doesn’t anymore.

“It just reminded me too much, so I threw it away,” she testified.

The teen said 10 to 15 other students were in the small classroom during the alleged inappropriate contact.

She said Ervin asked her if she could stay after school that day, but she didn’t.

The teen sent an email to Ervin later that day to “trap” him, she said. She said she wanted him to admit to the sexual contact, so she could provide the proof to school officials.

She read the emails between her and Ervin in court.

She wrote the touching was awkward and asked if it was going to happen again. She wrote, “I’m not going to say I didn’t like it,” she said.

She said Ervin wrote that he apologized for “brushing” up against her and it was a tight space in that area of the classroom.

The next day, March 29, the girl and her friend, the other now-17-year-old who testified Wednesday, were both in Ervin’s in-school suspension class.

The girl who testified Thursday said she made an inappropriate joke and Ervin overheard it. Ervin then asked an inappropriate question to the girls, and the girls laughed it off.

Later that day, the girl said Ervin called her over to his desk and asked if she and her friend “get down.” He then asked if she had nude photos of herself on her phone.

Ervin approached her later in class and slid her phone to her on her desk, the girl said.

Students are asked to turn their phones into Ervin at the start of the class.

The teen said Ervin asked her to access her pictures on her phone, and she complied.

She gave her unlocked phone back to Ervin and saw him get up and go to the bathroom, where he remained for several minutes.

“It’s just an internal panic,” she said, believing Ervin was in the bathroom with her phone.

She said Ervin returned from the bathroom, which is adjacent to the classroom, sat down at his desk and put her phone in his desk drawer with the other students’ phones. About 30 minutes later, he gave her phone back to her so she could unlock it for him, she said.

When she unlocked the phone, her nude photos appeared on the screen. She said she gave him the unlocked phone again and he went to the bathroom with the phone a second time for about 15 or 20 minutes, the same time as before.

He exited the bathroom, returned to his desk and put her phone in the desk drawer again. She said Ervin told her, “Those are really nice pictures.”

The girl said Ervin asked her later that day about her summer plans, and she said she planned to go swimming in her backyard pool. She said Ervin told her he should come over and they should have a few drinks.

She said she hesitated telling her mother about Ervin’s conduct because she didn’t want her to think less of her. She delayed telling school officials because she was nervous she wouldn’t be believed.

Ervin’s attorney, Bevan Maxey, asked the teen if she was turning around at her desk and smiling at Ervin to get his attention. She said she did.

She said she did not tell Ervin to stop touching her and that she felt uncomfortable. She said the other students were working on assignments or chatting during the alleged touching.

She said she didn’t tell her friend or any other classmates Ervin was in the bathroom with her phone during the roughly 20-minute period because she was embarrassed.

“No one wants to sit there and say there’s a teacher in the bathroom looking at my nude photos right now,” she said.

Maxey said Wednesday the girl was not using her phone for school purposes, so Ervin retrieved it but did not see what was in the phone and did not take the phone to the bathroom.

Ervin told police he could have handled the situation better, acknowledged engaging in conversations he should not have and said he was not proud of himself.

The other girl told police Ervin put his arm out and pulled her in close so his face was at her “breast level,” holding her tight for an extended period, she alleged in court documents.

The same day, she said Ervin rubbed her back while she was at her desk.

The trial is expected to conclude next week.