The principal and school secretary at a private school in McMinn County, Tennessee, have been arrested on multiple charges related to sexual assault allegations involving five underage victims in an ongoing investigation launched last summer, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Following the initial probe in August, Jason L. Kennedy, 46, of County Road 172, Athens, was charged with two counts of sexual assault by an authority figure and one count of solicitation of a minor, according to officials.
At the same time last year, Brittany Branham, 28, of the same address, was charged with one count of solicitation of a minor. Kennedy was the Liberty Christian School’s principal, and Branham was the school’s secretary and home school coordinator, according to McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy.
“As the investigation has continued, four additional victims have been identified,” Guy said Monday in an emailed statement. “These latest victims involve incidents dating as far back as 1996. Detectives presented these new cases to the McMinn County grand jury this week, which returned additional criminal indictments on Kennedy and Branham. Of the total five victims, one was unrelated to Liberty Christian Academy, and four were students at Liberty Christian Academy.”
(READ MORE: Trial date set for McMinn woman in 43-count sex case involving 18 underage boys)