Fired assistant principal moved to Lexington jail to face student sex charge

The fired Airport High School assistant principal accused of having sex with a student has been transferred to the Lexington County jail.

Dawn Diimmler, 44, was placed in the Lexington County detention center Sunday morning, according to Cayce Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Ashley Hunter. She will go before a judge for a bond hearing at 10 a.m. Monday.

Diimmler faces two charges of sexual battery with a student – one each with the Columbia Police Department and the Cayce Department of Public Safety – on allegations that she engaged in a relationship with a 19-year-old Airport High School student while she was the school’s assistant principal.

She surrendered to authorities at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County on Saturday morning.

It was unclear Sunday which case will be prosecuted first. Columbia is under the jurisdiction of the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office while Cayce is under the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

The felony charge carries up to five years in prison, under South Carolina law.

Officials said Saturday that the alleged relationship lasted from March 10 to June 2, 2017, and that Diimmler had sex with the student twice while at the school, which is on Boston Avenue in the city of Cayce.

A Columbia police spokeswoman said Diimmler also is accused of having sex with the student outside of school in the Columbia city limits.

Diimmler was fired by the Lexington School District Two board Feb. 12, hours after she and Airport High School principal Brad Coleman were placed on administrative leave.

The firing came after an investigation into allegations Diimmler was involved in an “unprofessional relationship with a student.” During that investigation, the district uncovered information that indicated possible criminal activity and notified Cayce police on Jan. 30, officials have said.

Coleman, who remains on administrative leave, is still principal at Airport High School, a spokeswoman said.

This story was originally published February 25, 2018 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Fired assistant principal moved to Lexington jail to face student sex charge."