Ex-Breathitt County Teacher and Current School Officials Indicted

Former middle school teacher arrested

after grand jury indictment 

on multiple counts of sexual acts with a minor

Four Breathitt County school administrators were indicted on misdemeanor charges, for allegedly failing to report the alleged sexual misconduct of former middle school teacher Charles Andrew Mitchell in 2010.

Breathitt County Schools Superintendent Arch Turner, along with Assistant Superintendent David Napier, Sebastian Middle School Principal Reggie Hamilton, and Breathitt County High School Assistant Superintendent Michael Bowling were indicted on misdemeanor charges. The charge is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail.

Mitchell, who Sebastian Middle School officials told WYMT was an 8th grade social studies teacher before resigning from his position in May, faces fifteen counts all relating to sexual misconduct with a minor at the school.

An attorney for one of the victims says he believes there could be more than just a few victims in the case.

"I hope not but I suspect that there are. I would urge anybody that this has happened to, talk to somebody about what happened," attorney Jeffrey Morgan, who represents a 14-year old in the case, told WYMT.

This from H-L:

[T]he grand jury charged Charles Andrew Mitchell, who was a teacher in 2010-11, with more than a dozen counts, including first-degree sexual abuse, third-degree rape, third-degree sodomy, use of an electronic device to solicit a minor for sexual contact, use of a minor in a sexual performance and distribution of obscene material, [Commonwealth's Attorney Darrell] Herald said. The charges relate to several female students, Herald said...

When administrators learned of the allegations involving one girl, they acted quickly to address them. However, the school officials are accused of failing in their duty to report the alleged abuse to outside authorities, Herald said. State law mentions police, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and a local prosecutor.

The law requiring such reporting specifically says school personnel are not authorized to do an internal investigation in lieu of the investigations it outlines.

The charge against the four school employees relates to only one student, Herald said.

There is no allegation the employees failed to report alleged improper contact between Mitchell and other students...