The charging of the Ooltewah High School athletic director and two basketball coaches with failure to report child abuse may be a legal first for Hamilton County.
District Attorney Neal Pinkston on Thursday afternoon took charges against AD Jesse Nayadley, boys basketball coach Andre Montgomery and assistant coach Karl Williams to Juvenile Court.
The charges come after three members of the team were charged in Gatlinburg with the aggravated rape and assault of a 15-year-old teammate.
DA Pinkston said the three failed to report the child abuse to the proper authorities as required by state law.
Authorities also said that three other freshmen on the team were also abused in a rental cabin just before Christmas.
Authorities said Failure to Report is a Class A misdemeanor, but the law is not clear on the penalties. There are two sections of state law that deal with the offense. In one section, it says the penalty is a fine up to $2,500. In the other, it just says Class A misdemeanor, which may imply jail or probation time, it was stated.
They were charged in Juvenile Court because one section of the law specifies Juvenile Court should have venue. The another section says Juvenile Court or Sessions Court should have venue. So, the District Attorney's office took the charges to Juvenile Court because it was listed in both sections.
Juvenile Court is not aware of this charge ever being filed in Hamilton County and the DA's office was not aware of it ever being filed in General Sessions Court.
Authorities said there were four victims who were each beaten and then at a different time sexually assaulted with a pool cue. Eight separate incidents would mean eight charges (or four counts of aggravated rape and four of aggravated assault), but the Failure to Report law does not specify that each instance should be charged separately. Officials said that will be up to Judge Rob Philyaw.
The trio are to appear before him Judge Philyaw next Thursday at 9 a.m.
Officials said the law is clear on how to proceed, though. If the defendants enter guilty pleas, they will be sentenced in July. But if any of them enter a not guilty plea, then that case has to be moved to General Sessions or Grand Jury. It will be up to Judge Philyaw to decide which one.
The three have been suspended without pay from their county school posts. Montgomery had already been moved off the Ooltewah High campus to a book depository job with no contact with students.