Former teacher to serve 2 years at 100% after pleading guilty to sexual battery involving a minor

BENTON COUNTY, Tenn. — Stephen Stokes of Benton County was sentenced Tuesday regarding a charge of sexual battery involving a minor.

Stephen Stokes was indicted by a Benton County grand jury in June of last year on one count of sexual battery involving a minor charge.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Local county commissioner indicted on sexual battery charge involving minor

He was charged with a class E felony and according to state law the consequence could include up to six years in prison. He was taken into custody after the indictment and his bond was set to $100,000.

According to court documents, the offense happened in 2022 and involved unwanted sexual activities.

Stokes is a District One county commissioner for Benton County and was also a teacher in the school system. He was suspended from the school system, but is still a county commissioner.

He also was taken into custody in August of 2025 after failing to appear in court regarding this case. In October of 2025, he pled guilty to the charge.

Stokes’ sentencing hearing was set for Tuesday at 1 p.m. However he waived his hearing and the sentencing was Tuesday morning.

According to court documents, Stokes was sentenced to TDOC and his sentence length is two years at 100%. He is also required to register as a sex offender. According to the documents, stokes also receives pretrial jail credit to be added to his sentence.

The Benton County Commission will now select a successor to fill Stokes’ vacant seat on the commission.

View the full judgment here.

For more local crime coverage, click here.