Arrested Fayetteville athletic director resigns amid scandal
Barry Gebhart resignation effective immediately, superintendent says
Superintendent Vicki Thomas has received and accepted the resignation of athletic director Barry Gebhart, effective immediately, Friday, Oct. 25.
“We have taken every step available to us under Arkansas law to deal with this situation and have followed the procedures to the letter, including the Arkansas Teacher Fair Dismissal Act,“ Thomas said. “It is now a police matter, and we are cooperating with them fully.”
Read: Gebhart Resignation Letter
Authorities arrested Gebhart after police said he allegedly tried to set up a sexual encounter with a detective posing online as an underage girl.
“He’s no longer employed by the Fayetteville Public Schools,” said Alan Wilbourn, public information officer for Fayetteville Public Schools.
Gebhart, 50, was arrested Tuesday on a felony charge of Internet stalking of a child. According to an affidavit, authorities arrested Gebhart after he arrived at a Rogers shopping mall for a meeting set up by undercover officers.
“It’s a police matter and we are cooperating fully with them,” Wilbourn said.
According to the probable cause report, detectives with the Benton County Cyber Crimes Unit came across a posting by Gebhart on the social media app Whisper. Detectives said Gebhart and the fictional 14-year-old girl exchanged photographs and text messages; he also sent messages stating that "he wanted to have sex with the girl."
READ: Cellphone secrecy and Internet porn; details released in Gebhart's arrest
Detectives sent a subpoena to Whisper regarding posts made by Gebhart with the results showing references made to skimpily clad girls wearing plaid miniskirts. One of the posts mentioned that he could see up the skirt of a young girl in his class, as detailed in the report.
“The site (Whisper) is known for that sort of activity,” Guyll said. “He posted some material, our cybercrimes unit was alerted to it.”
A police report from 2008 shows officers were called to Gebhart's home for a domestic disturbance. The report state officers arrested his wife after the two started fighting. She accused him of looking at Internet porn, police said. She was taken into custody and charged with endangering the welfare of a minor and domestic assault.
While Gebhart has submitted a letter of resignation and the school district is no longer paying him, the school board must meet to finalize the end of his contract.
“The board will vote on it at the November meeting, but it becomes effective immediately and that’s per Arkansas law,” Wilbourn said.