I can think of 2 cases in my schooling. I graduated from a public high school in Washington State in 1999. I am not going to include the teachers' names, just the first initials.
In one case, an eighth-grade teacher, Mr. M., made sexually suggestive comments to a female student (he told her she had a nice a**). The student filed a complaint, but nothing ever came of it.
Second case, I heard about by rumor after I graduated, that one of my high school English teachers, Ms. F., had been fired for inappropriate contact with a male student.
This happens all the time, but is never followed up in public schools. And on those rare occasions that complaints are taken seriously, the teacher in question is simply suspended with pay or transferred to work at the Bd. of Ed.
This used to happen all the time in NYC, and 110 Livingstone Street (until recently, the headquarters of the system) seems to have been populated mainly by child molesters and a few crooks who had dipped into their school's petty cash fund, since the union made it impossible to fire them.
Statistically, btw, public school teachers are way over the Catholic clergy. But the press loves public schools and hates the Catholic Church, so guess which gets the most coverage.
We need to push for vouchers.
One of my son's middle school teachers was arrested for oral sex in a public restroom (at the mall) with a minor (one of the high school students). He claimed it was anonymous and that he didn't know the kid was underage...
When we had gone to back-to-school night the year he was one of my son's teachers, the guy had posters of male superheroes all over the walls. I think he was an english teacher. My son said he'd give them work to do in class, then sit and 'surf the net' during class. At least he never approached my boy!
When they have tenure there is NOTHING you can do. The NEA and the union will defend them.