BLOUNTVILLE — The jury trial of a Kingsport special education teacher facing 20 counts of child abuse has been delayed two weeks. However, it is still set for July.
The teacher is Michelle Carpenter, suspended without pay for alleged incidents in 2021 and 2022 in pre-K special ed classes at Johnson Elementary School. A grand jury indicted her in 2023.
At a status hearing May 13 before Sullivan County Circuit Court Judge Bill Rogers, the trial was moved from a date of Monday, July 14, to Monday, July 28, because of a conflict in an attorney’s schedule. Attorneys previously indicated the jury trial could take up to a week.
The law firm of Wayne Culbertson of Kingsport, which includes attorney Joe McMurray, is defending Carpenter. Deputy District Attorney William Harper is the main prosecutor in the case, although Lauren Williams appeared in court instead of Harper on at least one time.
Indicted by a grand jury in May of 2023, Carpenter faces 10 Class D state felony charges of abuse for the infliction of bruising, etc., which would carry a sentence of two to 12 years in prison. She also faces 10 Class E state felonies of adversely affecting a child’s welfare, which would carry a sentence of one to six years in prison.
In a separate federal civil lawsuit against Kingsport City Schools, KCS denied any wrongdoing by the school system in handling the allegations against the teacher.
However, almost a year and a half ago, Dec. 7, 2023, KCS settled the federal civil case by parents of four of the 10 former students allegedly abused for $280,000. The four sets of parents alleged the four students were abused by Carpenter and that the school system and three individuals working for the school system didn’t treat the matter property.
The federal lawsuit mentions abuse reports from aide Tiffany Clark and speech pathologist Hunter Leedy. The students in question were at the time autistic 3- and 4-year-old pre-K students at Johnson.
At the time of the indictment, the district attorney’s office and grand jury in separate statements said school leaders didn’t follow Tennessee law, including the school system investigating the matter instead of initially turning it over to local and state authorities as required by state law.
