Goshen Police said Donald Shafer, 54 of Bristol, is facing the following preliminary charges:

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

Goshen Police said after 3 a.m. on Wednesday, officers were conducting a routine patrol in Shanklin Park when they found a vehicle in the park.

Officers then made contact with the two occupants and identified Shafer with a teenage boy.

Officials were able to determine probable cause to arrest Shafer and transported him to the Elkhart County Jail.

Shafer is a Social Studies teacher at West Side Middle School in Elkhart.

Elkhart Community Schools released the following statement to ABC57 News regarding the arrest:

"On Wednesday, February 11, our district was contacted by the Goshen Police Department, which is investigating a potential criminal matter involving one of our teachers and a former student at Elkhart Community Schools.

Immediately after we were contacted, we placed the teacher in question on paid administrative leave for violating our district's policy regarding inappropriate conduct with a student and are now cooperating with the police department in its investigation. Obviously, this is an extremely disturbing matter - one that involves the safety and security of our students - and we have made it a priority for our administrative staff.

Because this is a highly sensitive personnel matter and a police investigation, we will not be providing any other public comment at this time."