BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Facing outrage and disappointment from the community, the District Attorney responsible for the prosecution of an ex-PE teacher from Blount County Schools, accused of inappropriate contact with students, has clarified the legal basis for the charges pursued, labeling the current laws as “clearly insufficient” for the case at hand.

Earlier this week, former Blount County Schools employee Joseph Dalton received a sentence that might allow the expungement of his record following a guilty plea to five counts of assault by physical contact. The judicial diversion, a form of probation available to first-time offenders, mandates Dalton to complete six months of supervised probation, undergo a psychosexual evaluation, and adhere to any recommendations that result from this assessment.

In a statement released early Saturday morning, Fifth Judicial District Attorney General Ryan Desmond provided insights into the progression of the case, the rationale behind the specific charge levied against Dalton, and the complex deliberations faced prior to moving forward with prosecution.

Desmond explained that he became aware of an incident where a young student felt like one of their teachers was acting inappropriately in late 2023, and he said it was the first time he had heard of that teacher. After this, he also heard concerns from others that there had been numerous similar allegations made against the teacher in the past, he wrote.

Because of the concerns, Desmond said he had a criminal investigator obtain surveillance video from every class the teacher had participated in that school year. After reviewing the footage, Desmond said they located multiple concerning incidents where the teacher had physical contact with students that was inappropriate. The parents of the students were notified, and the investigation continued with statements and all possible related evidence being collected.

An important aspect of Tennessee criminal law that Desmond explained was that laws on sexual battery require contact with the “intimate parts” of a victim. He said no videos or evidence showed that the teacher had done that, and while the teacher’s behavior was concerning, it did not qualify as sexual battery or any other sexual offense under current Tennessee Law.

“We then faced a question, if the conduct did not amount to sexual battery, should the case and investigation then be closed?  I found this answer to be unacceptable.  Instead, we carefully researched the law and found the only criminal offense that fit the facts and evidence before us.  That criminal offense was assault through the ‘offensive touching’ of another,” Desmond wrote.

Under Tennessee law, assault by offensive touching is a Class B misdemeanor, which has a maximum punishment of 6 months, Desmond explained.

The next question Desmond’s office faced was whether it was worth it to prosecute the case, knowing how minimal the sentence would be. The alternative, he said, was to do nothing.

“I was elected to protect the citizens of our community, and the right choice was clear.  Considering past efforts by the school system to curtail this teacher’s behavior had clearly not been effective, doing nothing was not an option I could accept,” Desmond wrote.

Desmond explained that the decision to charge the teacher with five counts of offensive touching assault was not made lightly. Rather, he said the decision was made knowing that many would think the charges and sentence “would be woefully insufficient,” but that prosecutors are only able to do what the law allows. If there were more serious charges that were supported by the evidence, prosecutors sought those charges, Desmond wrote. He ended his statement saying:

I understand people believe the sentence for these crimes is insufficient.  I do not disagree.  I would certainly support any effort by the legislature to amend the law to address scenarios wherein a person in a position of trust has inappropriate contact with children in their care.

The law for these crimes, as it currently exists, is clearly insufficient.  Despite that inadequacy, when faced with this issue I ultimately made the decision that some action had to be taken.  I stand by that decision.

Fifth Judicial District Attorney General Ryan Desmond

Desmond is not the only Blount County official who is calling for the laws to change. Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell wrote that he is doing everything in his power to make sure the actions Dalton was accused of never happened to another student in the Blount County Schools system.

“I share everyone’s frustrations with the outcome of the charges against Mr. Dalton. There are not enough words to express how deeply disappointed I am. Laws need to be changed. At the root of it all, this entire situation could have been avoided years and years ago with proper action by the School Administration,” Mitchell wrote in part.

Nexstar’s 6 News obtained the judgment records for Dalton, which states that the victims of these charges were between the ages of 8 and 10 years old. The document also adds that Dalton’s probation is set to end on October 30, 2025.