Two major arrests have shook the Newport News community in the past two weeks. Marvin Harris of the Newport News School Board was arrested on Oct. 20 for several charges of stalking and destruction of property towards City Councilwoman Sharon Scott. On November 2nd, Warwick High School Assistant Jason Michael Taylor was arrested for sex crimes on children.

According to Councilwoman Sharon Scott, who has been on the Newport News City Council since 2002, the two had dated for a few years until around 2014. Scott alleges that Harris was violent to her during their relationship and prone to stalker behavior. Scott alleges that Harris broke into her home with a knife, vandalized her property with the knife, and tampered with her home security. 

On Nov. 3, a judge granted Scott an extension on her preliminary protective order against Harris. Scott told The Roanoke Times, “I’m disappointed that any human being would do what has been done to me to anybody.” 

In a statement to the Daily Press, Harris’s attorney denied that his client had anything other than a professional relationship with Scott. Harris will face a preliminary hearing on Dec. 20. Newport News School Board officials have yet to comment.

Assistant Principal Jason Michael Taylor of Warwick High, the high school down the road from CNU, was arrested by Chesapeake Police and charged with over 13 counts of various sex crimes against minors. These incidents happened while Taylor had been band director at Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, prior to working for Newport News schools. 

Parents at Warwick High expressed disgust and outrage in comments to local news outlets. 

One parent said to WAVY10, “He’s supposed to be someone she could go to and knowing that he did those things is obviously not the kind of person we want around our kids.” Taylor was suspended indefinitely by Newport News Public Schools. 

If you or a loved one is a victim of any of the aforementioned crimes discussed, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673, the National Domestic Abuse Hotline at 800-799-7233, the National Center of Victims of Crime 1-800-FYI-CALL, or local law enforcement.