Ex-teacher receives bond in sodomy case

By NewsPress Now

Bond has been granted for a former Robidoux Middle School teacher charged with first-degree sodomy.

Everett “Tim” Harding had a bond of $50,000 set at a court appearance in front of Associate Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Spencer Tuesday afternoon.

During court on Tuesday, officials stated that an additional forensic interview revealed there may be an additional victim involved in an inappropriate relationship with Harding. He will need to remain on house arrest while residing with his parents in Ridgeway, Missouri, if he can pay the bond, and he is not permitted to have any contact with the victim.

Harding had been held without bond since being booked into the Buchanan County Jail on May 20.

Harding, 47, of Maryville, is charged in a May 7 incident involving a 14-year-old girl. Court documents allege Harding had sexual contact with the girl in his locked classroom after school that day.

The St. Joseph School District Board of Education terminated his employment last week. Harding taught math at Robidoux since 2022 and had worked at four other schools in the area, including Spring Garden Middle School in St. Joseph, in the last decade.

Harding will next appear in court in Buchanan County for a hearing on July 2, 2024, in front of Judge Rebecca Spencer.