(11/14/07 – Initial BBT Report)

Richard Dennis Whitehead, a former English teacher at Bainbridge High School, in Bainbridge, Georgia has been convicted in a two-day bench trial and sentenced on nine counts of sexual assault of a person in custody.

Superior Court Judge Wallace Cato found Whitehead guilty of having sex with a then-17-year-old female student on nine occasions between March 23 and April 20, 2007.

Judge Cato then imposed the maximum 30 year sentence on Whitehead and ordered that he serve at least 20 years of that sentence as prison time.

Additionally Whitehead will have to register as a sex offender, cannot teach and must restrict his involvement with children whenever he is released on parole.

Although Whitehead’s sexual contact with the student was consensual Georgia law prohibits anyone with supervisory control over another person from engaging in sexual contact with that person, regardless of their age.

Whitehead came to the attention of authorities when friends of the girl saw inappropriate text messages of a sexual nature on the girl’s cellphone and told the girl’s mother. The mother took the victim to the sheriff’s office and deputies used the victim’s cellphone to set up a meeting with Whitehead. When Whitehead arrived at the church where the victim stated the alleged sexual contact took place he was arrested.

10/31/09 – Conviction Overturned

The Georgia Court of Appeals has reversed the conviction of Richard Dennis Whitehead.

The Court of Appeals held that Whitehead’s sexual contact with the student was not a crime in light of the recent George Supreme Court ruling regarding consensual sex between teachers and students who are of the age of consent.

References:

Whitehead conviction reversed (10/23/09)

Former teacher headed to prison for sex with student (11/14/07)

Background:

Teacher charged with sexual assault (4/24/07)

Teacher arrested for sex with student (4/24/07)

(Canada) Alexander Clachers, a former manufacturing teacher at Kenner Collegiate, was found guilty on all charges by the 12-person jury after they spent more than 20 hours deliberating his case. His charges were seven counts of sexual assault, seven counts of sexual exploitation, and one count of sexual interference. Link 1 and Link 2

(U.K.) David Wilson, 48, former headmaster of Auchmuty High School, Glenrothes, has pleaded guilty to possessing and downloading 3,000 images of child abuse. The case was directly linked to Operation Alegbra, the police investigation that led to a gang of eight paedophiles in central Scotland being jailed. Link 1 and Link 2

(U.S.) Richard Tuthill, 37, a former music teacher from Bay Shore, New York whose 2007 sex abuse conviction had been overturned was found guilty this week after a retrial, the Suffolk district attorney’s office said. Tuthill was convicted of second-degree sex abuse after less than two hours of deliberation on Wednesday, Clifford said. Tuthill is expected to be sentenced Nov. 30. The female victim was 13-years-old at the time of the sexual abuse. Link

(10/30/09 – Initial BadBadTeacher.com Report)

Jerry Wesley Kight, 42, a former teacher at the Mountain Area Christian Academy in Morganton, Georgia has reportedly pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old female student.

Kight pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual assault in plea deal under which charges of child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes were dropped.

As a result of his guilty plea, Kight was sentenced to four years in prison to be followed by 21 years probation and lifetime registration as a sex offender.

Also, Kight can no longer work as a teacher or have any unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18, nor can he reside or be in or near an area where children congregate.

Kight who was arrested on July 24, 2008 had been free on $30,000 bond.