Court docs allege North Platte High School teacher sexually assaulted student

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A North Platte High School teacher has been accused of sexually assaulting a student.

On Tuesday, the school’s resource officer notified police of an “inappropriate” relationship between 47-year-old David Cooper and a 17-year-old student, court documents say.

Cooper is a math teacher who has worked at the school for 16 years.

The resource officer received three statements from concerned people, who had seen “flirtatious” behavior between Cooper and the student.

The student had also been seen entering Cooper’s classroom after school hours on several occasions, an arrest affidavit says.

In one instance, the student went to the classroom on a day when she had been marked absent from classes.

During an interview with police, the student said her relationship with Cooper became “physical” in December, the affidavit says.

On three different occasions, Cooper sexually assaulted the student, including once in his classroom, the affidavit alleges.

Cooper told the student that if their relationship was ever “compromised,” she would need to delete messages off her phone, court documents say.

Investigators searched the phone and found 49,204 messages between the two.  The affidavit alleges that several of those messages were “sexual in nature.”

On Wednesday, Cooper was arrested on suspicion of sexual abuse by a school employee, a Class IIA felony.  He was lodged in the Lincoln County Detention Center.

If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

North Platte Public Schools released a statement regarding Cooper’s arrest:

Yesterday, Wednesday, February 22, 2023, an employee was taken into custody by the North Platte Police Department. While we cannot share the specific details of this personnel matter, we can assure you that North Platte Public Schools remains committed to educating our students in a safe learning environment. Additionally, we will continue to work with law enforcement throughout this investigation. The North Platte Police Department is handling this ongoing criminal investigation; we cannot elaborate further.