By By Komlavi Adissem

Copyright postandcourier

FLORENCE — A mysterious foul odor has been causing disruptions at West Florence High School since the start of the school year. On Sept. 19, the sheriff’s office arrested a teaching assistant who was allegedly behind the smell.

According to Sept. 20 release from the Florence County Sheriff’s Office, 32-year-old Alexander Paul Robertson Lewis was charged with disturbing schools as a non-student and malicious injury to property worth $10,000 or more.

Investigators say Lewis, who was a teaching assistant at West Florence High School, got a spray off the internet that was “designed to imitate fecal odor” and sprayed it at the school. Authorities allege that Lewis used the spray on several occasions between Aug. 25 and Sept. 19 that, over time, caused a greater disruption to the school. The release noted that some students required medical attention for respiratory issues and the school incurred a $55,000 expense for inspection of and damage to its air conditioning system.

During the Florence One School Board meeting on Sept. 11, parent Amanda Williams said she had called the district five or six times and left voicemails regarding the odor and emailed the school’s principal multiple times. She said she did not get a response back.

Williams said the smell triggered her son’s asthma and resulted in two doctor visits. She noted that he had to use his inhaler more frequently as a result, meaning he would no longer be able to use it at other points he needed it like during his physical education class.

“This is unacceptable,” she said. “When I called the district and spoke to the very sweet operator … that’s the only person that would talk to me or give me the time of day, which I find absolutely ridiculous when it comes to the breathing and the health of my child.”