An elementary school teacher honored last year with a Huntsman Award for Excellence in Education was arrested and charged Thursday with sexually abusing students in his classroom.

Frank Laine Hall, 36, was charged in West Jordan's 3rd District Court with three counts of aggravated sex abuse of a child.

Hall, a first-grade teacher at Rosamond Elementary School, 12195 S. 1975 West, Riverton, is accused of inappropriately touching three of his students sometime between July 2006 and March 9, 2007, according to court documents.

There are about 20 students in his class who are 6 or 7 years old.

"At various times throughout the school year defendant put his hand inside of the pants ... of three female children in his class," according to court documents. "Defendant repeatedly touched the children in his class in the presence of other children."

Salt Lake County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Shane Hudson said the charges stem from incidents investigators believe happened only in the classroom.

Division of Child and Family Services spokeswoman Carol Sisco said her office was also bracing for the possibility of getting additional "referrals," including helping any other victims who step forward. Court documents state Hall, "participated in various activities involving teaching children outside the public school."

Investigators were made aware of the allegations Monday. Hudson said his office received calls nearly simultaneously from a concerned parent, DCFS and possibly the school. A student who witnessed the touching reported the incident to his parents, he said.

Hall was immediately taken out of the classroom Monday and has not been allowed to return. He was arrested at his home near 11800 South and 1300 West Thursday shortly after 3:30 p.m. He was being held Thursday evening in the Salt Lake County Jail on $500,000 bail.

Last year, Hall was honored for going the extra mile for students, even hand-delivering rewards such as Happy Meals and Gatorade to their homes, according to Hall's bio.

"I just love doing it — I don't have kids, so regard them as my kids and put a lot of effort into them," Hall said last year. "I get a lot of great interaction with them."

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