Waverly Teacher Charged With Child Sex Crimes Had Been Under Investigation For Sex Talk With Students

Robert Herzing had a long pattern of inappropriate behavior, and Waverly Schools gave him a slap on the wrist months before his arrest

By Kaylee McGhee White

October 15, 2024

In September, a high school teacher in Eaton County was arrested for trying to have sex with a 15-year-old boy he met on Grindr. The 15-year-old boy happened to be a detective who had been communicating with Waverly High School teacher Robert Herzing, 32, for months.

Over the course of their communications, Herzing admitted he was looking for a “friends with benefits” type of relationship. He also said he was a public school employee who taught journalism and reading.

When the detective asked Herzing if he wanted to meet up to have sex, Herzing said he’d only commit to meeting to talk, but that he’d be willing to do “anything you’d like,” according to police records.

Herzing agreed to meet the boy in person on Sept. 12 and was arrested in the parking lot of the Delta Township District Library. Police said they found a pink bag in Herzing’s car that “contained condoms, multiple [sex toys],” as well as a pair of fur-covered handcuffs, a bottle of “anal lube,” and a “large knife.”

Herzing has been charged with felonies for attempted third-degree criminal sexual conduct, accosting a child for immoral purposes, and using a computer to commit a crime.

After Herzing’s arrest, Waverly Community Schools officials claimed they were unaware he had been under investigation for sex crimes involving children. But the charges against Herzing shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone—least of all, school leadership. After all, the school district had placed Herzing under investigation just months prior for making inappropriate and sexual comments to his high school students.

In March, Herzing was placed on paid administrative leave by Waverly Community Schools, after several other Waverly High School employees overheard Herzing have sexually charged conversations with his students, according to a Freedom of Information Act request made by Michigan Enjoyer.

Document reading "Waverly COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
Pride. Tradition. Excellence.
Human Resources Office
Ann Marie Lindsay
Director of Human Resources Human Resources Specialist
To:
From:
CC:
Date:
Re:
RobeltHening
Micky Savage, Director of Human Resources and Labor Relations
Tieman O'Rourke, WEA President, Tony Terranova, Principal, Personnel File
April 10, 2024
InvestigationD ispositiona nd Notice of WrittenW arning
I am writing to follow up on allegations that you were engaging students in inappropriate sexual
conversations in your assigned classroom. These allegations, if true, would constitute a violation of
Board Policies Po3210 Staff Ethics and Po 3213 Student Supervision and Welfare.
Allegation:
It was alleged that on multiple occasions you participated in conversations with students that were
sexual in nature. These allegations are explained in more detail below.
Investigation:
An investigation has been conducted into these allegations. Statements were received and/or
interviews were conducted with the following individuals:
o You
• Complainants
o Students
I have reviewed your personnel file and discipline history. You have not previously been under
investigation or had any discipline.
Fin dines:
It was brought to the attention of high school administration and then to human resources that on
multiple occasions you were witnessed engaging in discussions with students that were sexual in
nature.
Adult witnesses stated the following comments were personally overheard by them:
• During lunch a student asked you why females can have multiple orgasms and males could
not. It was alleged that you responded that it takes a guy awhile to recover but there are
other things he can do while waiting.
• A student allegedly asked you personally, "which way do you swing?" Your alleged response
was "Mine goes up. It has to go up because if its down it gets sweaty at the base and can be
smelly."
515 Snow Road, Lansing, Michigan 48917 • P. 517-319-3023 • F. 517-321-8577 • www.waverlycommunityschools.net
COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
Pride. Tradition. Excellence.
• Another alleged conversation overheard was a student asking you questions about anal sex.
Student asked, "do you just shove it in?" Your alleged response, "No you need to use
lubrication."
• Student allegedly asked you if you knew "what is the G spot for anal sex." It is alleged you
responded, "yes, it's the prostate."
It was also alleged:
• That you have ear piercing and tattoo apparatus in your classroom that students have
access to use
• One student brings you food in exchange for passes to your classroom during other
teacher's class time.
• Students call you by your first name.
• Students sit in your classroom office unattended.
• Students sit on a couch together kissing and hugging.
In the meeting held on April 5th you shared the following information and responses to the
allegations listed above. .. During lunch a student asked you why females can have multiple orgasms and males could
not. It was alleged that you responded that it takes a guy awhile to recover but there are
other things he can do while waiting.
o Your response in our meeting: You recalled hearing the conversation, but you did
not respond to it as it was during the student's lunch time.
A student allegedly asked you personally, "which way do you swing'?" Your alleged response
was "Mine goes up. It has to go up because if it's down it gets sweaty at the base and can be
smelly."
o Your response in our meeting: You overheard this conversation. You didn't know
what "swing" meant. Students were talking about up and down and sweaty. You
told them that was disgusting.
Another alleged conversation overheard was a student asking you questions about anal sex.
Student asked, "do you just shove it in?" Your alleged response, "No you need to use
lubrication."
o Your response in our meeting: You responded there are steps to take to be safe, but
we shouldn't discuss it as that is gross.
Student allegedly asked you if you knew "what is the G spot for anal sex." It is alleged you
responded, "yes, it's the prostate."
o Your response in our meeting: You advised the student to seek out their sex
education teacher. Why would you say "prostate" when it was a female student that
asked?
It was also alleged:
" That you have ear piercing and tattoo apparatus in your classroom that students have
access to use
o Your response in our meeting: You denied having any ear piercing or tattoo
equipment in your classroom/office. You do recall female students talking to a male
student about his new piercing in the classroom.
515 Snow Road, Lansing, Michigan 48917 • P. 517-319-3023 • F. 517-321-8577 • www:waverlycommunityschools.net"

In one conversation, a student asked Herzing why girls are able to have multiple orgasms and boys are not. According to the witness, Herzing responded “that it takes a guy a while to recover but there are other things he can do while waiting.”

In another conversation, Herzing told a student that his penis “swings up” because “if it’s down, it gets sweaty at the base and can be smelly.”

Herzing also advised students on how to have anal sex, according to the investigation.

The school district issued Herzing a written warning and told him to make sure he “appropriately redirect[ed] inappropriate conversations promptly” before returning him to the classroom. Apparently, Herzing took their advice and redirected sexual conversations away from his own students and toward other teenagers online.

But even these revelations of Herzing’s disturbing conversations with students should not have come as a surprise to anyone at the school district—because this was not the first time Herzing had been accused of introducing his students to explicit and sexual subjects. In 2023, a Waverly parent reported that Herzing had provided her daughter access to Out and The Advocate, two LGBT publications that included “inappropriate” and “offensive” images. Herzing claimed afterward that he hadn’t meant to put those publications in his classroom library—just like I’m sure he hadn’t meant to bring condoms to his meet-up with a 15-year-old boy.

This long-running pattern of behavior warranted a far closer look than the school district was willing to give.

Herzing’s arrest also confirms that parents are well within their rights to raise concerns about the influx of sexually charged material in their children’s classrooms. This is not to say that every public school employee who waves a rainbow flag is a pedo. But it is simply a fact that every public school employee eager to force sexual content and conversations onto minors has some sort of agenda, some of which are legitimately criminal.

This really isn’t complicated. The only adults who should be talking to children about sex and sexuality are their parents. And any adult who refuses to respect these boundaries should be barred from entering a classroom.

Kaylee McGhee White is the Restoring America editor for the Washington Examiner, a Tony Blankley fellow for the Steamboat Institute, and a senior fellow for the Independent Women’s Forum. She grew up in Detroit and graduated from Hillsdale College. Follow her on X @KayleeDMcGhee.