02-05-2025
‘Significantly crossed the boundaries': report details misconduct of former GCMS teacher
GIBSON CITY, Ill. (WCIA) — A teacher in Ford County was fired last month after police opened an investigation into reports that he sent inappropriate text messages to students. Now, the school district has released further information about those texts and other misconduct.
Through a FOIA request, WCIA received a redacted version of the statement detailing the charges against former Gibson City Middle School math teacher Robbie Dinkins Thursday evening.
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The report explains how Dinkins would send emotional text messages to confide in students about stressors in his personal life, including the deaths of people close to him. He also admitted to investigators he would sometimes be intoxicated when texting students.
'Your texts were sent late at night and significantly crossed the boundaries of a student/teacher or athlete/coach relationship,' the district wrote to Dinkins. 'Your text messages caused students distress over your safety and state of mind.'
The district gave Dinkins a warning of only contacting students and parents on school-sanctioned platforms, like Thrillshare and Remind, in July 2024. He continued to text on his phone and did not guide students to use other platforms despite the warning.
In addition, Dinkins would repeatedly meet with students alone, at his house, after hours on school property and in his car offering rides to students. At his house, students would 'use medical equipment, organize soccer equipment, have meals, or just hang out.'
Dinkins also was physically affectionate with students, the reports notes, including hugging students in public and telling students he loved them both in private and in public.
All of these allegations 'created at least the appearance of impropriety' of student-staff relationships, the board of education noted.
'You developed trusting relationships with students and their families and then violated that trust when you allowed those relationships to cross the professional boundaries expected by a teacher and a coach,' part of the statement reads.
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The district noted that Dinkins completed training in Aug. 2023 and Aug. 2024 on what is grooming and what could be perceived as grooming.
Dinkins was also invited to testify in front of the board in closed session regarding the allegations. He declined; instead he wrote a statement to the board.
The school board voted unanimously to terminate Dinkins on April 23. He was previously placed on administrative leave.
A special prosecutor has been appointed by the Ford County State's Attorney to investigate the case.
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