Image Credit: Hamilton County Jail & Chattanooga Preparatory School / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
A former Chattanooga teacher is facing life in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of enticement of a minor.
Kenya White, a former teacher at both East Lake Academy and Chattanooga Preparatory School, agreed to take a plea deal in the federal case.
He will be sentenced at a later date, but he is facing anywhere from a minimum of ten years up to life in prison.
White was initially investigated after a 13-year-old East Lake student reported in February 2023 that White had communicated with him inappropriately through text message.
Authorities found numerous texts, including messages where White asked the student to take sexually explicit photographs and send them to him.
East Lake officials suspended White and later terminated his employment. He was hired eight months later by Chattanooga Prep.
According to NewsChannel 9, Chattanooga Prep administrators failed to do a proper background check on White, leaving them unaware of the ongoing DCS investigation.
In February 2025, a 14-year-old student notified a school counselor that White had sent him inappropriate text messages.
Officials found text messages and Snapchat messages between the two in which White asked the student to send explicit photos and also asked if he could perform a sexual act on the student.
Prep Public Schools CEO Troy Kemp released a statement which read in part, “As our school administrators and board have acknowledged, Mr. White should never have been hired at our school, and protocols have been implemented to ensure full background checks are completed on all new hires.”
White will remain in jail awaiting his sentencing.
One Response
Lucifer’s own that we’ve got to keep up. Wish we had EFFECTIVE punishment.