A former Spartanburg County music teacher has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, with all but 90 days suspended, after pleading guilty to three charges in a child exploitation case that began with accusations from one of his own guitar students, Hoodline reported. John Foster Jr. will serve those 90 days on weekends, spending weekdays on home detention, according to prosecutors.
Hoodline reported that Foster will be allowed to leave home detention only for medical appointments and church, will be placed under GPS monitoring, and must register as a sex offender. A permanent restraining order bars him from contacting the victim for life.
The case traces back to March 2024, when a 13-year-old guitar student told her father what had happened, Hoodline reported. Police said Foster worked as a music instructor at Roper Music on East Main Street in Spartanburg, where the girl was one of his students. Roper Music told WYFF that Foster rented an instruction room to teach guitar lessons rather than working as an employee, and that his lease was terminated immediately upon his arrest.
Foster was first arrested in July 2024 after a music student accused him of touching the student’s genitals, Hoodline reported. Warrants signed in February 2025 added eight additional counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, alleging Foster possessed sexually explicit photographs of minors.
For more information, visit hoodline.com.