Teacher Appears in Court, Had No Prior Arrests
JACKSON, Tenn.- A Gibson County high school teacher accused of having sexual contact with a student appeared in Jackson City Court Monday morning. Kendall Bradley Bell pled not guilty to two counts of statutory rape by an authority figure and one count of sexual battery by an authority figure. According to the clerk‘s office, Bell has no prior arrests in Madison and Gibson Counties. The school district confirms Bell was a teacher at South Gibson County High School for the past two years. Investigators said Bell had inappropriate contact with a 17-year-old girl from the school. “She is 17-years-old and he‘s 25-years-old, so a difference of eight years makes it unlawful,” said Lt. Tyreece Miller, with the Jackson Police Department. Investigators say the teen met Bell in Jackson twice, once at his apartment. According to an affidavit the girl performed a sex act on him both times. “At the time the alleged offenses occurred, he was a teacher at a school where she was a student,” said Lt. Miller. The school district suspended Bell without pay. Bell is out of jail on a $25,000 bond. He is scheduled to return to court June 13.
