Former teacher Duane Sanders, Jr., who was already facing 10 counts of child abuse, was recently indicted a second time by a Hamilton County grand jury, and more victims have been identified, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The indictment is under seal and not available to the public, said Jay Price, a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office.
The original allegations against Sanders involved child sexual abuse of 12 male students ages 6 to 7. Some of the boys alleged Sanders touched them in their genital area over and under their clothing, with some alleging Sanders performed oral sex on them, according to the testimony of Brenda Reid Brown with the Child Advocacy Center in Chattanooga during a June 6 bond hearing.
Sanders — who has no prior criminal record — was held in custody at the Bradley County Jail after his March arrest. Hamilton County Jail records show Sanders was booked into the jail Thursday on five counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child and four counts of aggravated sexual battery.
Sanders, a former Wallace A. Smith Elementary School teacher and once recognized as “HCS Hero” in April 2021, was arrested in March, indicted on multiple counts of child sexual abuse and given a $1.3 million bond.
As the Times Free Press previously reported, Sanders had been a part of Hamilton County Schools since 2009, as a substitute teacher. In 2014, he became an educational assistant and went on to becoming a certified teacher in 2017.
During a hearing shortly after his arrest, Sanders said he wasn’t “100% sure” of the charges he was facing and asked the court for time to hire an attorney.
In a follow-up bond hearing in June, Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman lowered Sanders’ bond to $500,000 after several testimonies in support of Sanders’ were heard by the court.
Should he make bond, Sanders will be on house arrest, must wear a GPS monitoring device and have no contact with children other than his own biological children.
At the June 6 bond hearing, Donna Horn, a former Hamilton County teacher and school board member from 2011 to 2015, testified that she was shocked and cried at the allegations against Sanders.
“I know this man,” Horn said. “I don’t believe it.”
Horn – who testified to teaching Sanders’ children – said Sanders began volunteering in her class after his shift at an area McDonald’s and was the children’s favorite.
Sanders is due to appear before Steelman on Aug. 24 for a status hearing.
Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.