A Eugene middle school teacher arrested near the University Sunday morning pleaded not guilty to sexual abuse in the third degree Monday at Lane County Adult Corrections Facility.
The Eugene Police Department identified the man as Nolan Bryant Heinz, 26, and said that he allegedly attacked and groped an unidentified female University student near Gerlinger Annex at approximately 12:10 a.m. Sunday.
Earlier, on Saturday at around 11:30 p.m., another student was allegedly assaulted by a man who resembled Heinz on Kincaid Street near campus.
A University press release speculated that the two incidents were related, but Heinz, who works at Kennedy Middle School, has officially only been charged with Sunday’s incident.
In addition to being a middle school teacher, Heinz is a University alumnus, according to the Office of the Registrar.
He first enrolled in fall 2002 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English in winter 2006. Heinz later received his master’s degree from the University in 2007 and started a career in education that same year.
Eugene School District 4J Communications Coordinator Kerry Delf said the school district employed Heinz as a language arts teacher, primarily teaching sixth grade classes.
Kennedy Middle School administrators were notified of the arrest Sunday evening through an unidentified source and soon sent out an e-mail to parents of Kennedy students.
The letter stated that Heinz is placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of any law enforcement proceedings.
Furthermore, the school district has launched its own investigation to see if Heinz demonstrated any inappropriate behavior while employed there.
As of Monday, the staff of Kennedy Middle School declined to answer questions about Heinz, instead referring all questions to district spokespeople.  
EPD spokesperson Jenna McCulley said Heinz was initially only held on one charge of the Sunday assault and that EPD was currently only investigating the earlier Saturday evening incident.  
“I would say based on time and proximity, they’re both worth looking into, but we’re being very careful right now,” McCulley said.
University officials have also remained largely silent on the matter and wouldn’t discuss details of the case or the suspect’s arrest.
Captain Ed Rinne of the Department of Public Safety declined to officially identify the suspect as Heinz.
However, Rinne did say the suspect was detained by DPS near Gerlinger Annex early Sunday morning.
Rinne added that the suspect appeared slightly intoxicated but was cooperative during questioning. As Heinz began to raise enough suspicion, Rinne said, he was eventually handed over to EPD.
“The way he spoke and his reasonings on a lot of issues led us to believe that he was the one,” Rinne said.
Outside of the district investigation, a review of Lane County Circuit Court records found no prior charges or arrests for Heinz.
As of Monday evening, Heinz had not been released on bail and remained at Lane County Adult Correctional Facility.
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