A music teacher fired from a Lapeer charter school in July is facing 34 charges related to the distribution of child sexually abusive material.
48-year-old Keith Corbett was arrested Thursday, August 1, by the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Office, almost two months after his previous employer, Lapeer’s Chatfield School, announced his suspension. Corbett had been employed with Chatfield School for at least a decade, teaching music at the K-8 school.
The school had been informed of social media posts regarding his behavior, with the school suspending Corbett the same day police searched his home. Though the school did reassure parents that there was no information or evidence suggesting any students came to harm, within a week of the initial suspension, Chatfield School had posted the music teacher position, and informed families that Corbett had been banned from campus, with his access to school-issued technology restricted during his short suspension.
He was arraigned Friday, August 2, being charged with 17 counts of using a computer to commit a crime, nine counts of distributing child sexually abusive material, six counts of child sexually abusive activity, and two counts of accosting children for immoral purposes. Appearing last Friday, August 9, for his preliminary examination, Corbett will next be in court Monday, August 19, at 2:00 p.m. He is currently being held at the Lapeer County Jail on a $500,000 cash/surety bond.
Also arrested in Lapeer County on similar offenses, 30-year-old Jacob Aaron Besaw of North Branch was arraigned on Friday, August 2, as well. Besaw was arrested following an investigation in which digital evidence was seized from his residence.
The investigation was initiated by the Michigan State Police (MSP) Computer Crimes Unit, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force when it was learned that Besaw was viewing and distributing files of child sexually abusive material on the internet.
Besaw was charged with one count of distribution of child sexually abusive material, two counts of using a computer to commit a crime, and one count of possession of CSAM. He is currently being held at the Lapeer County Jail.
