New records detail investigation on former Beach High JROTC instructor

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - WTOC Investigates obtained new documents from the Savannah-Chatham Public School District revealing more information about former JROTC instructor Harry Drayton Jr. He taught at Beach High School.

Drayton turned himself into the Chatham County jail last month. Drayton was charged with child molestation and criminal attempt to commit a felony.

The Savannah-Chatham School District said they started investigating an incident involving Harry Drayton Jr. back in December of 2021.

Drayton was a JROTC instructor at Beach High School since 2018.

The district said when they were made aware of a possible incident with a student, he was immediately reassigned to another location with no student contact during the investigation.

Public records obtained by WTOC Investigates show on January 6th Drayton was mailed a notice of termination.

The notice said “the district is in receipt of several video recordings of [Drayton] interacting with a student in an inappropriate manner. During these recordings, [Drayton] [is] using expletives that should not be used when conversing with students. The recordings show proof of [Drayton] sharing with a student how “fine” she is and taking part in very sexually suggestive conversations with the student.”

When WTOC Investigates requested those recordings, an attorney for the district responded:

The mailed notice goes on to say a student was possibly going to testify at a dismissal hearing about “suggestive comments to her”, including that she was “fine” and inquiring about social media posts concerning her.

It said Drayton used “s” and “f” words that embarrassed her and she got several recordings of their interactions.

The district said Drayton even used his personal accounts to send her texts and communicate which violates the district’s ethical standards and policy.

The notice said the school administrator Craig Daughtry could also testify in the hearing about his review of the investigation and determined that Drayton’s conduct was inappropriate.

The January 26 hearing never happened because Drayton resigned on January 19.

Court documents are sealed right now unless the court orders for them to be released, that includes the indictment, any witnesses, the board of education’s police report and any recordings due to the nature of this investigation involving possible child abuse.

Drayton’s family had no comment about the charges. His first court hearing is at the end of this month.

We will keep following this case and update you with information as it is released.

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