Elkhart residents express outrage following the arrest of local teacher Donald Shafer

ELKHART, Ind. — Elkhart residents expressed their outrage after learning about Elkhart middle school teacher, Donald Shafer, being arrested for child sex crimes.

The probable cause affidavit obtained by ABC 57 News reveal on Wednesday around 3 a.m., an officer with the Goshen Police Department was conducting a routine patrol in the parking lot of Shanklin Park when he noticed a Chevrolet passenger car parked with the lights off and windows fogged.

Documents state the officer approached the car and found an older man, Shafer, and a teen in the backseat.

Shafer was then taken to the Goshen Police Department for further questioning, during which he stated the meetup with the teen was actually a "Grindr hookup." Grindr is a social media dating app primarily used by LGBTQ+ individuals. The affidavit also states Shafer admitted to performing a sex act on the teen.

The teen victim was interviewed by investigators and stated he met Shafer on Grindr. The victim stated the two sent nude images to each other through the app.

The victim corroborated Shafer performed a sex act on him.

When Shafer noticed the police were outside the car, the victim said he told him to tell police they were both adults. The victim said Shafer then asked if he was 18.

The victim said he was afraid to tell Shafer no.

Naomi Sandusky, a mom of two, tells ABC 57 she thinks stronger background checks are needed.

"I think that it's a little ridiculous that we don't do a better job background checking our teachers and the people that connect with our kids every day and make sure that they're not the wrong type of people," Sandusky shared.

Shafer is being held at the Elkhart County Jail and faces the following preliminary charges:

• Child Seduction
• Sexual Misconduct with a Minor
• Child Solicitation
• Child Exploitation

Schafer has a hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 1 p.m. ABC 57 News will be there.