The former East Lake Academy and Chattanooga Preparatory School teacher who pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor was sentenced Wednesday to almost 19 years in prison, according to court records.
Kenya White, 33, was ordered to 225 months in prison, substance abuse, mental health and psychosexual treatment by Judge Curtis Collier. White’s defense attorney, McCracken Poston, said his client will never work as a teacher again.
“We all learn our way through life, and maybe a lot of people learned lessons here,” Poston said. “My client is an alcoholic, and that, unfortunately, exacerbates this situation.”
Poston said the judge did not give the harshest possible sentence and that he assessed the situation on the face. The charge White pleaded guilty to carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life.
White accepted responsibility, Poston said. He hopes his client’s family is left alone and that the other affected families can heal. After the prison time, White will have 10 years of supervised release.
Prosecutors had said White’s sentence should reflect the fact that there were two victims in this case — one student at East Lake and one at Chatt Prep.
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Chattanooga police responded to reports in February 2023 of inappropriate contact between White and an East Lake Academy seventh grade student. At the time, the student was 12 and White was 30.
A police investigator seized the student’s phone and found texts between White and the student that spanned three days, according to White’s plea deal. The texts showed White attempting to persuade the child to take and share sexually explicit images of himself.
White was suspended without pay from East Lake Academy that same month and was notified his contract would not be renewed for the following school year.
In January 2024, White was an eighth grade English teacher at Chatt Prep, and his Chatt Prep personnel file showed he was under investigation by the state Board of Education.
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A 14-year-old student at the school then reported he had received inappropriate messages from White by text and over social media, according to court documents.
White asked the student to take explicit photographs of himself and asked if the victim would allow White to perform a sex act on him, the plea said.
Chattanooga police arrested him Feb. 13, 2024, on charges related to the incident at East Lake Academy. Shortly after, he was fired from Chatt Prep.
A review of his teaching license with the state revealed he did not have the proper credentials to teach. An investigation revealed nearly half of Chatt Prep’s 45 teachers did not have proper credentials.
White has pending sexual exploitation of a minor charges in Hamilton County Criminal Court. According to online records, his next scheduled court appearance is March 6.
Contact courts reporter Mason Edwards at medwards@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6409.