Greensboro police arrest former Smith High teacher on sex charges

Greensboro police arrested former Smith High School teacher Joseph Aaron Savoy, 34, on Wednesday on six felony counts of indecent liberties with a student and booked him into the Guilford County Jail, where he is being held without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court as the case moves into the judicial system.

The arrest caps an investigation that began after police first learned of allegations against Savoy in 2025. Arrest warrants say the charges involve four students and stem from incidents that allegedly occurred on April 1 and April 28, 2025, while Savoy was employed at Smith High School. Investigators said the case uncovered additional victims beyond the first allegation, widening the scope of the inquiry before the arrest was made.

Guilford County Schools said Savoy was hired in 2022 and worked as a remedial teacher. The district said his last day of employment was June 30, 2025, and that his contract was not renewed. Those details place the allegations squarely inside a recent school year and raise immediate questions about what was known, when it was known, and how the district responded as concerns surfaced.

North Carolina law makes taking indecent liberties with a student a Class G felony when the defendant is a teacher, school administrator, student teacher, school safety officer, coach, or certain other school personnel. The charge carries added weight because the statute is built around a power imbalance that exists when school employees are accused of exploiting access to students.

Smith High School describes its mission as providing a safe, rigorous academic environment for students in a culturally diverse community. The allegations involving Savoy sit in direct tension with that promise and will likely focus attention on how the school and district monitor staff conduct, respond to complaints, and protect students when an accusation first surfaces.

Greensboro police have a Family Victims Unit that handles investigations involving victims and family-related crimes, and the city has previously publicized a school-related indecent-liberties case involving a Grimsley High School teacher and athletic trainer. Guilford County Schools says public records requests are governed by state law and district policy, a detail that may shape what the public can learn next about hiring, discipline, and any internal review.

For parents, students, and alumni, the central facts are now clear: a former Smith High teacher is facing six felony sex charges, the alleged conduct involved multiple students, and the investigation expanded as more victims came forward. The case will now test what school officials knew, what actions they took, and whether the district’s safeguards worked when they mattered most.