A Georgia high school teacher had an inappropriate sexual relationship with an underage student, police have said.
The Savannah Police Department said in a statement that 35-year-old Chatham County teacher Paulina Walden was arrested May 1.
‘The district takes any accusation of inappropriate conduct by an employee very seriously.’
Walden was charged with improper sexual contact with a student and child molestation; she was booked into the Chatham County Detention Center where she was being held without bond.
According to Georgia law, anyone convicted of child molestation can be punished by imprisonment for a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years.
Georgia law adds that a conviction of improper sexual contact by a person in a position of trust faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
Police said they were notified on April 24 regarding a report of a teacher having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student.
“When administration became aware of the allegations, the educator was immediately reassigned to a non-school location with no student contact,” the police statement read.
Police also said the alleged sexual contact occurred off campus, which made the Savannah Police Department the lead agency for the case.
The Savannah Morning News obtained a statement from the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System saying Walden was an English teacher at Jenkins High School. Walden has worked at the school since September 2023.
“The district takes any accusation of inappropriate conduct by an employee very seriously,” the press release said. “The matter will be reported to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.”
The school district told WTOC-TV:
She remains an employee of the district at this time as the case has not yet been adjudicated. Since she is not actively on the job, she would need to use any accrued leave time or personal days in order to be paid. If she returns to work, she will remain reassigned to a location where she will have no interaction with students.
The school district told WTOC that Walden teaches mythology and oral speaking.
WTOC reported, “Through her social media, we know she has worked with Jenkins’ theatre department in multiple plays and productions. She has been the yearbook adviser and a head coach at one point for the dance and flag team.”
WTOC said Walden’s teaching certification status is still active until 2029, and her certification “does not show she is under investigation or has any ethical status complications.”
“No further comment can be made on the allegations as it involves a personnel matter,” the school district stated, according to another report from WTOC.
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According to WTOC, Walden was previously a teacher or teaching assistant at Garrison School of Visual and Performing Arts, Shuman Elementary School, Savannah Country Day School, and East Broad K-8.
Walden’s husband — who reportedly also is a teacher — did not have a comment on his wife’s arrest, WTOC said.
Walden does not have a criminal record in Chatham County, according to the station.
The Savannah Police Department and the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.
Anyone with information is urged to contact CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020 or submit an anonymous tip through the Savannah Police Department mobile app.
Walden is the second Savannah Chatham County Public School System teacher to be arrested on child sex crime charges in less than a year.
In October 2025, 32-year-old Jawan Johnson was arrested and charged with sexual exploitation of children, solicitation of sodomy of a child under 18, and grooming of a minor.
According to the indictment WTOC obtained, Johnson had material in his possession that depicted a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct — and solicited the same child for an act of sodomy for money and used electronic communications to make the illicit offer.
At the time of his arrest, Johnson was a 7th-grade social studies teacher at New Hampstead K-8, according to WTOC.
In February, Johnson pleaded not guilty to the charges, WJCL-TV reported.
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