A former teacher/coach at Ooltewah High School has been granted diversion in a case in which he was charged with propositioning a 17-year-old female student.
Chandler Joseph Morris, 27, appeared before Criminal Court Judge Amanda Dunn on the charge of sexual exploitation of a minor. The charge will be removed from the record if he gets into no further trouble during a two-year probationary period.
Morris was represented by attorneys Lee Davis and Meredith Mochel.
Prosecutor Kevin Loper said Morris sent Snapchat messages to the girl, asking her for sex. He said he asked that they meet at Walmart during the school lunch break to "fool around" in the bathroom.
An affidavit said the girl informed Morris, who was 24 at the time, that she was a minor. It says he replied, "Yeah, that's fine," and also said he was okay with "going the child predator route."
The girl afterward contacted school officials, and authorities were called in.
Authorities confiscated Morris' phone and on it found "two images believed to be of the victim. The images were sexual in nature and the victim later identified them to be of her."
Morris was an assistant football coach at Ooltewah High at the time of the 2019 incident.