Former LPD officer accused of affair with elementary school teacher
Brian Gilley
A former Lebanon Police officer who was a part of the D.A.R.E program in an elementary school is off the force after allegedly engaging in an affair with a teacher.
Brian Gilley was assigned as a D.A.R.E. officer to Castle Heights Elementary School. Allegedly, after classes ended for the day, Gilley and the teacher engaged in sexual activity with the teacher on school grounds in September 2024.
Gilley denied the allegations during an initial investigation; however, reports say he later admitted to the relationship before resigning.
He also admitted there may have been students on school grounds at the time during one of the alleged sexual encounters.
Lebanon Police Chief Mike Justice released a statement regarding the incident.
鈥淭he policy violations also included being untruthful during the inquiry. These facts were presented during a POST decertification hearing,鈥 the statement read.
Justice emphasized the activity did not involve children, did not occur in the presence of children or in a classroom.
The teacher, Shelby Moss, who was married at the time of the affair, resigned in May after a brief suspension. Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee JC Bowman said the incident raised serious concerns and state Rep. Clark Boyd said further reviews at both the school district and police department should be conducted.
According to reports, Gilley is prohibited from working in law enforcement in Tennessee. Additionally, the State Education Board is considering disciplinary actions for Moss.
During the decertification hearing in April, Gilley said he knew what he did was wrong and that he regrets his actions.
鈥淚t was a mistake, and it will never happen again,鈥 Gilley said. 鈥淚 was very embarrassed.鈥
Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission said Gilley was there to protect children, not engage in sexual activities with teachers.
Nashville-based WZTV television news station Fox 17 said it received copies of text messages between Gilley and Moss, including ones the station said it could not show on air or online due to the sexual nature of some of the messages.
