A teacher at an Indiana Baptist school was arrested last week on charges relating to sexual misconduct with a student, just days after he was fired following a confrontation at his church by members of two groups calling themselves “PredHunters Indiana” and “Creeps Spotlight.”
Fishers Police told the Indianapolis Star they received an anonymous tip accusing Stephen Ayon, 34, on September 26 — the same day he was fired from Fishers Christian Academy, a ministry of the independent Fishers Baptist Church.
Ayon told detectives who initially interviewed him at his home that church officials had known about the relationship with the now 15-year-old girl for about two years, because that’s when they told him to stop, according to a probable cause affidavit.
“Stephen mentioned that the church noticed that he had some kind of inappropriate relationship with [the minor] in some capacity and told him to stop approximately 2 years ago,” the affidavit reads.
Ayon admitted he was the girl’s direct teacher and volleyball coach, and that he’d been accused of sexual misconduct with a minor in the past when he taught in California.
He also said that he had exchanged explicit photos with the girl.
After his initial interview with police, detectives told Ayon to have no contact with the victim in the case, but when detectives went to the girl’s home to speak with her, her mother told them that Ayon had just been there to “trying to explain the whole situation” to her.
When detectives spoke with the victim, she confirmed details of her relationship with Ayon and said she was afraid she would get in trouble if she spoke up.
The student said that Ayon began flirting with her and texting her in 2021, WISH reported. She said she did not consent but that “threatened” her and told her “he (would) place the blame on her if she didn’t ‘comply.’”
She also told detectives Ayon sent her inappropriate photos of himself and told her to “not believe anything she was told” when allegations about their relationship arose.
According to WXIN, the “predator hunters” confronted Ayon on September 24 outside his church with accusations that he had pursued one of their “decoys” online for a sexual relationship. In video the group recorded, he denied accusations that he wanted to have sex with little girls.
Members of the group told WXIN Ayon made contact with the decoy over an app called Whisper and said they’d handed over all the messages to police.
Ayon is charged with three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, three counts of child seduction and one count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors. According to WISH, he was being held on a $250,000, although court records do not show him incarcerated as of Saturday. His next court date is in December.
Both Fishers Christian Academy and Fishers Baptist Church have put most information about their institutions behind a password. Only very basic information about enrolling in the school or attended services is publicly available.
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[Featured image: Stephen Ayon/Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office]
