Teacher Followed 10-Year-Old Girl into Bathroom: Cops

A Kentucky elementary school teacher and. middle school soccer coach is accused of. sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl. inside a school bathroom. The girl, [music] who's now a teenager, came. forward to reveal what she says. allegedly happened to her. But now, on. top of being on leave and banned from. school property, he faces a very serious. charge, but we are going to break down. what exactly the evidence may show. Welcome [music] to Sidebar, presented by. Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. 40-year-old Charles Charlie Hamilton is.

under arrest in Madison County, Kentucky. And I will tell you, if these. allegations are true, he could be. looking at prison time for a significant. amount of time. This alleged victim, just 10 years old back during the 2018. 2019 school year, and that time period. is important, recently came forward to. claim that Hamilton touched her. inappropriately inside a school bathroom. during a power outage. I want to break. down this case. I want to welcome back. on prosecutor, former Ohio Deputy. Attorney General Mark Weaver. Mark, thank you so much for coming on. Really.

appreciate it. Talk to me about the. challenges of bringing a case years. after the alleged crime when somebody. only comes forward so many years later. I mean, doesn't negate that this. happened, but it can complicate a case. It can make it a little bit challenging, right? >> Sure. Two things viewers should know. One, statutes of limitations for child. sex cases are usually very long. In many. cases, 15, 20, 25 years. Secondly, those.

statute typically don't start running. until the child turns 18. And so, there's plenty of time legally to bring. the case. But you raised an interesting. point. Witnesses may have left and moved. on somewhere else. People who were at. that school at that time who knew about. the power outage, maybe they moved to. another state, not available. digital. records of what might have happened. If. there's any email traffic, texting, social media at the time, that's largely. gone. This may very well come down to. the classic he said, she said, and.

defense lawyers can take advantage of. that issue. >> Now, my understanding is in Kentucky. there's no statute of limitations even. on felonies, and I think he's charged. with first-degree sexual abuse, which is. a felony. So, that that's a good point. I will say this, Kentucky news outlet. Lex 18, they got their hands on this. warrant that was filed against Hamilton. It provides a little bit more. information. I want to get into it. So, according to their reporting, this. alleged victim, who's now 17 years old, she reportedly told her therapist that a. teacher touched her inappropriately when.

she was just 10 during the 2018 2019. school year. That therapist reported the. allegations to the Department of. Community Based Services. It's part of. the Cabinet for Families and Children. And the teen met with DCBS, explained. what happened. Mark, explain to me how. that works. Is a therapist a mandatory. reporter? Isn't there some sort of. confidential confidentiality what is. told to the therapist? How does that. work exactly? >> Although I don't practice in Kentucky, in most states, there is a protection. for things you tell your therapist. But.

when it comes to certain criminal. offenses, particularly child sex. offenses, states will allow that to be. revealed. And people who work with. children do tend to be mandatory. reporters. Having said that, without. respect to knowing what this case might. be, that could be the motion, a. suppression motion could be filed in. this case where the defense council. would seek to exclude that under some. argument along the lines of that it. should not have been revealed. >> Right. Okay. So, according to the arrest. warrant, Boonboro Elementary School in. Richmond was dealing with a power outage.

one day. And this is when this. 10-year-old girl had apparently asked. Hamilton to go with her to the bathroom. She said she was scared of the dark, didn't want to go alone. However, according to the Lexington Herald. leader, the student didn't want Hamilton. to actually come into the bathroom with. her, but he allegedly did. Now, the girl. reportedly told authorities that when. she'd finished up in the bathroom stall, and that is when she says that he. allegedly touched her genitals. Hamilton's other hand was allegedly. wrapped around the child's waist and. back. Lex 18 reports the warrant reads,

"When she left the stall, Hamilton then. reached down and touched her over her. clothes and asked her if this was okay.". Now Mark, obviously a disturbing. allegation. The complication, let's go. to back to this one more time. How do. investigators actually corroborate that? How do they prove an allegation like. that? You know, even aside from what is. it, six or seven years ago, but the. circumstances of this interaction, you. wonder if a defense attorney is going to. say, "Is this being misinterpreted? Is. this being exaggerated? Did this.

actually happen the way that she said?". It may very well have. And if that's the. case, then you could understand why this. charge is being pursued. But at the same. time, you do wonder how can they. corroborate this. >> Corroboration will be the heart of this. case. The first thing investigators will. do is to check employment records to see. that this teacher was in fact working on. that day and attendance records that in. fact this child was in school on that. day. And then power records going to the. power plant company to confirm that.

there was a power outage at the same. time on that same day. Absent one of. those three, the defense can get a. verdict of a quiddle without even. getting into the credibility of this. child, now a teenager. If those three. things are all there, now it's going to. come back to the he said, she said, and. now this is the very uncomfortable time. when our system permits the criminal. defense lawyer to cross-examine this. victim in a very aggressive fashion. Usually not in a way to bully her. because the jury wouldn't like that, but. in a way that might make it seem as.

though she's confused. I have prosecuted. child rape cases. I have seen criminal. defense lawyers do exactly that. Any. little moment of daylight where they can. suggest that maybe her credibility is. not worth relying on, they will take. advantage of. And particularly, and this. is not judging the situation, it is not. putting blame on anything. But if she. admitted that she gave him a hug, that. could be a complicating factor. Now, one. thing can be true and one thing can also. be true, right? the allegation could be. yes I gave him a hug but then he took it.

to the other level and that could 100%. be true but when you are talking about. beyond a reasonable doubt obviously. there can be complications here but let. me tell you what happened here so as. this investigation got underway Madison. County schools they placed Hamilton on. leave and according to posts on the. elementary school's uh Facebook page he. had taught third grade his Facebook page. as well as a page for the elementary. school show him surrounded by students. in classrooms at sports events 56. reports that Hamilton voluntarily. surrendered to authorities on October.

13th. He was charged with firstdegree. sexual abuse of a victim under the age. of 12. Mark, if this is true, right, what are the benefits of turning. yourself over, not fighting this, complying? Would it suggest that he is. ready to take this to trial, that he. believes he didn't do anything wrong, that there's this is a misunderstanding, or does this just even if he were guilty. of this, even if the evidence were. strong, this is advisable to do in a. situation like this? He may want to take.

that form of a plea, but the prosecutor. also has to look for digital evidence of. other instances of this man being. attracted to children. We don't. currently have evidence that he was. looking or collecting child porn or they. acted out against any other student or I. think he was a girl soccer coach, any. other player. But that's the sort of. thing investigators and prosecutors are. looking for now. the more they can build. their case out and potentially supersede. this indictment with additional charges, the better leverage the prosecution has.

to get this defendant to plead guilty. >> By the way, you know why we're able to. really do a deep dive on a story like. this? It's not only because of the. amazing support that we get from. everyone out there. Thank you so much, but it's also because of the support. that we get from our incredible sponsor, Morgan and Morgan, America's largest. injury law firm, a firm with over a. thousand attorneys. You know why they're. so big? Because they win all the time. They have recovered over $25 billion for. more than 500,000 clients. In the past. few months, a client in Florida received. $12 million after the insurance company. offered just $350,000. Out in.

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the QR code on screen. Now, Madison County Schools says that. Hamilton was placed on leave on. September 8th. So, that is the same day. that the district found out about the. investigation from DCBS. Lex 18 reports. that the warrant states Hamilton is. banned from all school property in. Madison County. Can't have any contact. with his alleged victim. A statement. from Madison County Schools to Lex 18. said the district was notified of the. beginning of the investigation by DCBS. No information about the investigation. was given, including the nature of the.

investigation until yesterday. When we. were notified he was being charged, we. received no additional information. The. communication families received from the. school indicated Mr. Hamilton would be. out of the building and gave information. about reassigning students for the time. being. They added, "Mr. Hamilton has. remained on leave since September 8th. and has not returned to his teaching or. coaching duties." The district will. continue to cooperate fully with the. investigation. And Hamilton wasn't just. a teacher. He was also, as you just. heard, a soccer coach at a nearby middle. school. A Facebook post from B. Michael.

Codddle Middle School in April of 2023. announced Hamilton as the new girl. soccer coach. And back in 2022, Burnsboro Elementary posted an educator. spotlight of Hamilton on its Facebook. page. It said, quote, "This is my 13th. year in education, and I've been at. Boonboro since the doors opened. I've. taught fifth and third grade here at. Bees. My pull toward teaching came while. I was in college working with an. afterchool program through the YMCA. I. love the idea of being able to help a. student become the best version of. themselves both inside and outside the.

classroom. I'm very thankful for my team. at BEES who make showing up every day. seem easy. Outside of Boonboro, I'm very. passionate about soccer and all sports. I have coached soccer the past several. years and absolutely love the game. This. love has recently turned into my very. own podcast with the hopes of building a. brand around the game. Now, Hamilton was. given a $50,000 bond. It's unclear if. he's been released from pre-trial. detention. He has an arraignment that's. scheduled for Monday, October 20th. Mark, what is the role of the school and.

the school district here? >> I've come alongside school districts. when teachers have been accused of. crimes like this and advise them. Number. one is they need to be transparent with. parents about what's happening. Parents. are responsible for their children's. safety when they're with them and then. they give their kids over to the school. for seven or eight hours every day and. they expect the school to then be. responsible for their child's safety. So. number one, they have to make sure this. teacher is no longer around children. Number two, be honest and transparent.

with parents about what the school does. to protect the children and how the. school is working to make sure. investigators can get to the truth in. this case. >> Do you think there's more here than we. see? I mean, do you think they have more. than just the account of this alleged. victim? Do you think that they have. perhaps corroborating statements before. they move forward with a charge against. a teacher like this? Most of the child sex cases I've worked. on or read about over the years suggest. that once someone shows us that they are. attracted to children, it's not a.

one-off incident. It just doesn't happen. one time. Something else is happening. Whether it's child porn, whether it's. acting out against other children, typically there's more here. I hope. there's not for the sake of, you know, I. don't want there to be more victims. I'd. be surprised if this was the only time. this person has acted out. How do you. think this is going to play out? How do. do these cases typically play out? I. know each one is different. The. allegations are different. The charges. are different. The circumstances are. different. But how typically does it you. always go to trial? Do you see a plea.

deal? See charges being dismissed? I. mean, how do you see these cases usually. playing out? >> I tell defense lawyers that I prosecute. because I like to bring jury trials and. I like to be in court. Having said that, I will not take the desire to try a case. and balance that against the desire to. protect a victim. I'd always rather. protect a victim. So, as a prosecutor, I. want to make sure, and this is with a. 17-year-old girl, she's still a minor. I'd like to see if I can get a. conviction without forcing a child to.

take a stand and explain what might be. the most embarrassing moment of her life. in front of a room full of strangers and. then subject her to the withering. cross-examination of a highly skilled. and trained defense lawyer. So when. possible, I am willing to dismiss some. charges if the defendant will take. responsibility for some other portion of. the charges and if the victim is willing. to bless that arrangement. The charges. belong to the prosecutor, not to the. victim. But when possible, we get a.

better result with the plea because. we're not rolling the dice on whether. there'll be an acquitt by the jury. And. we don't have to put the victim through. years of appeals and potentially. reversals and new trials. Couple of. questions here. I'm think as I'm. thinking about this um to corroborate. her account. Between the time this allegedly happened. and when she told her therapist, I. wonder if she exhibited any kind of. behavior. Well, first of all, I imagine. she would have to take the stand in a. trial to explain what happened. I also. have to imagine people would would.

testify to say her personality changed, something changed, they observe or she. she may have told them something over. the years. You wonder is the therapist. the first person who ever knew or saw. something. And I wonder if that's part. of the investigation, too. So, I guess. the two questions I have for you are, you know, that's probably going to be a. part for the prosecution to see has she. told anybody this or did anybody observe. any change in her behavior, her. personality, anything, her actions? And. can the therapist testify, too?

>> Well, now we're getting into evidentary. rules, but let's do it. The girl, she. takes a stand. She can testify that she. told her mom, her dad, her friend, this. person, that person. She can do that. Those people cannot testify that they. were told because that would be hearsay. That's not allowed. That's a out of. court statement offered to prove its own. truth. The defense would object and the. judge would likely bar that testimony. Now, there are some exceptions to the. hearsay rule. I don't see one for this. one here. But the girl herself could.

testify that she in fact told other. people. If there were outside proof of. that, it's still hearsay, but there's. other exceptions that could come in. Having said that, I think people should. remember when a victim comes forward. with a story like this, the defense. council is going to try to make the jury. to think the victim is a liar. I had a. child sex prosecution once where the. defense lawyer put on witnesses from the. neighborhood who say, "I know this girl. She's a liar. She told me a lie once.". And they tried to use that to suggest. that she was a liar. I undid each of.

them in cross-examination by simply. asking them if they had ever told a lie. before and every one of them under oath. had to say they did. So I was able to. blunt the effect of this. But we see. this sometimes where the argument of the. defense council is she can't be believed. cuz she lied once about a babysitting. job or she lied once about some money. from Girl Scout cookies, something like. that. >> Well, just to back up here, first of. all, they could testify maybe not about. what she told them, but they could. testify. Did you observe any change in. her demeanor? Did you see anything, you.

know, that would maybe support it? But. also the therapist, right? Can the. therapist testify? >> Typically not. There is an exception for. statements made for the purposes of. medical diagnosis. So there is that. hearsay exception. So perhaps it comes. under that. But the point you make is a. good one, Jesse, is people can testify. You know, now that you mention it, I. remember that power outage and shortly. thereafter she dropped out of this team. She stopped going to this club. She. didn't seem as outgoing as she once was.

That's all valid testimony. Those are. not hearsay statements. Seeming to act. differently after a traumatic event is. something that could come in as evidence. if in fact those things happened. >> Mark Weaver, this is a disturbing new. set of allegations here. Curious to see. how it plays out. We're in the early. stages of it. We talked about some of. the different factors to consider and we. don't have a ton of information, but. again, we'll keep a careful eye on it. Mark Weaver, thanks so much for taking. the time. Appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> And that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us and as always, please subscribe on YouTube, [music].

Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you. should get your podcasts. You can follow. me on Instagram or X. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll see you next time.