SALISBURY — A Faith Academy staff member and former Rowan-Salisbury Schools Board candidate has been charged with sex crimes involving a student at the school where he was reportedly teaching.

Michael Carl Chapman, 68, of Salisbury, was arrested on Friday by the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office on one count of felony indecent liberties with a child for an offense dated May 20.

According to the warrant obtained from the Rowan County Clerk of Court’s office, Chapman is alleged to have “unlawfully, willfully and feloniously (taken) indecent liberties with (the victim). At the time of the offense, the defendant was a teacher at Faith Academy Charter School and the victim was a student at this same school.”

A Rowan County magistrate assigned Chapman a $75,000 bond. He was arraigned before a judge on Tuesday, and a court date was set for Oct. 28.

Chapman unsuccessfully ran for the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education in 2022 when he lost to Lynn Marsh in the race for the southeastern seat of the district. In that race, Marsh won 40.61 percent of the vote. A second-place finisher, Brad Jenkins, received 33.18 percent of the electorate. Chapman brought up the rear with 25.82 percent.

Chapman has been involved with a group seeking to establish more charter schools in Rowan County called Lighthouse Alliance. Although it appears to have been recently changed, Chapman’s LinkedIn profile previously described the accused as the organization’s CEO. In an email to the Salisbury Post in March, Chapman pitched his vision for the organization.

“Lighthouse Alliance Charter Schools will set higher expectations for its schools and students,” the email said. “The nonprofit’s charter schools stress the importance of our God-given unalienable rights, guaranteed by The American Constitution. The Lighthouse Alliance charter schools will work with parents and guardians, teaching them how to grow and support their children as they reach for success. The Lighthouse Alliance Charter Schools will be a TRUTH-based education choice providing consistently elevated educational opportunities for its students.”

At the time, Chapman cited his goal of having two schools open for the 2025/26 school year. The group was holding meetings earlier this year to gauge interest from community organizations to host its schools.

Chapman has contributed several opinion columns for the Salisbury Post over the years on various topics including education.

This is a developing story that will be updated as more information becomes available.