Image Credit: Blount County Sheriff’s Office & Canva
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
A former Blount County teacher convicted of “offensive touching” of students is set to be released from probation after six months.
Joseph Dalton, a former PE teacher, pleaded guilty to five counts of offensive touching, a Class B misdemeanor in the state of Tennessee, in September 2024.
He was sentenced in May 2025 to six months of supervised probation with the possibility of having his record expunged after completing it.
Investigation into Dalton began in 2023 after several incidents were caught on camera that were “deemed to be inappropriate.” Because the incidents did not provide evidence of Dalton touching “intimate areas,” he could only be charged with offensive touching.
After Dalton’s conviction, his teaching license was suspended for three years.
A number of officials, in addition to the public, have spoken out after the case was finalized, noting the need for a change in the law to address when a person in a position of trust has inappropriate contact with children who are in their care.
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