Former Chatt Prep teacher Kenya White pleads guilty to enticement of a child in federal court

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) —  Former Chattanooga Prep teacher Kenya White has agreed to plead guilty to enticement of a child in federal court.

He signed a plea agreement last week.

In the agreement, White admits to enticing two victims over the last year.

One was a seventh grader at East Lake Academy.

The second was a student at Chattanooga Prep who was 14.

In both cases, White asked both to take and send him explicit images.

The agreement says he asked the second student to perform a sexual act on him.

White will enter the plea in court next month.

He faces a minimum sentence of ten years, but the judge could add more time at sentencing.

Prep Public Schools released a statement regarding White, saying:

“Every scholar at Chattanooga Prep deserves to be safe and respected while receiving a high-quality education at our school, which is why our school takes allegations of misconduct extremely seriously.

Mr. White was arrested on the evening of Wednesday, February 12, for inappropriate behavior during his previous employment at East Lake Academy. On Thursday, February 13, Chattanooga Prep fired Mr. White. Upon hearing of Mr. White’s arrest and alleged misconduct, a Prep student reported to a faculty member that Mr. White had also acted inappropriately toward him. Chatt Prep faculty followed protocol and state law, immediately informing the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) and the Chattanooga Police Department (CPD) of this secondary allegation.

Out of an abundance of concern for the student’s anonymity, because there was no threat to other students, and because DCS and CPD were only beginning their investigations, Prep Public Schools did not share news of this secondary allegation. School leaders and counselors have been in contact with the student and his parents throughout this situation and ask for the media to respect the privacy of the student as well.

As our school administrators and board have acknowledged, Mr. White should never have been hired at our school, and protocols have been implemented to ensure full background checks are completed on all new hires.”

-Troy Kemp, CEO of Prep Public Schools