Image Credit: Hamilton County Jail & Canva
Tennessee Conservative News Staff –
A former Hamilton County elementary school teacher has been sentenced to 60 years in prison after being found guilty of sexually abusing boys in his classroom.
48-year-old Duane Sanders, a former first grade teacher at Wallace A. Smith Elementary School in Ooltewah, was found convicted on seven counts of aggravated sexual battery, seven counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child, and one count of aggravated rape of a child.
He was also ordered to register as a sex offender and is required to have community supervision for life.
Sanders, who also interacted with students in extracurricular leadership roles and had previously worked or volunteered at four other Hamilton County Schools, was recognized as an HCS Hero by the school district in April 2021.
As previously reported, in 2023, accusations of molestation began pouring in as seven boys of different ages and classes said they were abused. Sanders would have them sit on his lap and molest the children’s genitals, either pulling down their pants or under their clothes.
The trial took place in May 2025, with all seven boys taking the stand to testify. Sanders was found guilty on June 5, 2025.
Public defender Jay Perry asked the judge not to give Sanders the maximum sentence, stating that his family relied on him for financial support, he had been the victim of early childhood trauma, and he had no prior criminal history.
Hamilton County prosecutor Stephani Brown, however, asked for the maximum.
During the sentencing hearing, Dr. Judit Parker, a licensed forensic psychologist, discussed the psychosexual evaluation she conducted on Sanders.
Parker stated that Sanders, ““somehow managed to paint [his victims] as consenting participants. He started out with denial, then victim blaming, and then not taking accountability.”
She quoted Sanders from the evaluation: “‘Kids always flock to me. They want to be very touchy with me, fight over me.'”
She also noted that eye gaze technology, which tracks eye movement when an individual is looking at images, showed Sanders to have a “visual sexual fixation” with children when shown images of children dressed in clothing and in swimwear.
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office detective Scott Darry also testified that five more children had come forward with statements regarding Sanders, bringing his victim total to 12.
“The trial was the first step for justice for these kids, and this is the final step of providing justice and closing that door for them,” Brown said. “More than anything for me, I feel that this sentence, and now the completion, honors the bravery of the little boys that came into this courtroom.”
Sources:
https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2026/jan/28/former-hamilton-county-teacher-sentenced-for-sex
