Former Chattanooga Teacher Pleads Guilty To Enticement Of Minors

Image Credit: Hamilton County Jail & Chattanooga Preparatory School / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

A former Chattanooga teacher has accepted a plea agreement for admitting guilt to federal charges of attempting to entice minor students to send him nude photographs.

30-year-old Kenya Emil White, most recently a former sixth grade reading teacher at Chattanooga Prep, admitted to the courts that he asked two boys – ages 12 and 14 – to send him sexually explicit photos. These requests were made via text and Snapchat while White was employed at two different Chattanooga schools.

Last Thursday, White pleaded guilty to one count of enticement of a minor. He had previously been charged on 14 counts: Those charges include one count each of kidnapping and solicitation of a minor, along with 12 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Chattanooga Prep Teacher Indicted For Kidnapping, Child Sex Crimes

The minimum mandatory sentence for enticement of a minor is ten years in prison, with a maximum of life in prison. White must also register as a sex offender and could be sentenced to supervision upon release for life.

According to court records, the 12-year-old student reported receiving messages from White in February 2023 when he was working as an educational assistant at East Lake Academy. 

Despite documentation showing that administrators at Chattanooga Prep were aware of “disciplinary holds” on White’s TN Compass profile, which is used to verify teacher certifications through the state, he was hired by Chattanooga Prep.

When school human assets officer Angelnetta McGee Ulmer found that information, she recommended termination.

“He has a hold, disciplinary hold, which means the administrator made a report. It’s not clear what type of report, but he is still under review by the state board, which means we cannot hire him while he’s under review,” Ulmer wrote in an email. “We will need to terminate Mr. White this week.”

Brad Scott, CEO of the school at the time, replied, “Let’s discuss this before he is terminated.”

While White was employed at Chattanooga Prep, a 14-year-old student reported to a counselor that White sent him similar inappropriate requests via Snapchat. 

Although no official charges were filed in connection with the second report, prosecutors say both cases will still be considered during sentencing. 

White has remained in jail since his arrest in March. There is no date currently scheduled for his sentencing.