Affidavits filed in a sex abuse case against a Walthall County teacher show the case stems from allegations made by four separate teenage victims.
Salem Attendance Center teacher Nolana Thornton Griffin, 40, of 56 Nations Road, was charged Monday with four counts of sexual battery against children under the age of 18 by a person of trust or authority, District Attorney Dee Bates said.
According to affidavits filed by 14th Circuit District Attorney’s Office Investigator Truett Simmons, the alleged incidents occurred between Oct. 1, 2013, and Feb. 14, 2014.
The charges against Griffin involve sexual activity with one 15-year-old student, one 17-year-old student and two 16-year-old students.
All of the students attended Salem Attendance Center, a small school of about 400 students in grades 1 through 12.
A probable cause hearing has been scheduled for March 31 in Walthall County Circuit Court.
Walthall County School District Superintendent Zachary Rushing said this morning that Griffin is still employed at Salem but has taken a leave of absence on her own accord.
“We can’t legally do anything about her employment status. She can actually come back and teach anytime,” barring a conviction, Rushing said. “That’s what the law allows.”
Under Mississippi law, school teachers, police officers and firefighters are allowed to have probable cause hearings prior to the issuance of an arrest warrant.
A conviction of sexual battery against a child under the age of 18 by a person in a position of trust or authority carries a sentence of no more 30 years.
Bates would not release further details of the alleged incidents, saying the case remains under investigation.
