Prosecution rests in Duane Sanders trial

Duane Sanders sitting at consuel table during day four of his trial where he is facing child sexual abuse charges.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Monday was day four of the Duane Sanders trial as the prosecution has rested its case.

Sanders was a first grade teacher at Wallace A. Smith Elementary School when he was arrested on charges of child sexual abuse in March 2023.

The prosecution rested their case Monday afternoon after calling up nearly 20 witnesses, 7 of those children.

Each one of those saying they were sexually assaulted by their first grade teacher, Duane Sanders.

Sanders came into this case charged with 19 sex crimes against nine different children.

However, prosecutors dropped four of those counts as not all nine of the children elected to testify in this trial.

Before they rested, the prosecution called up the last parent and child combo who say they suffered this abuse.

That child, like the other six who testified before them, says that the abuse happened while they were sitting in Sanders’ lap.

That last parent, who said they are an educator, said the idea of that kind of physical contact perplexes her.

That parent said, “As an educator, it is ingrained into your brain that there’s rules that come along with it to protect yourself. One of those is to not hug a child straight on, instead hug a child to the side, and you should not put a child on your lap.”

The Chief Talent Officer for Hamilton County Schools, Dr. Zach Brown, testified that Sanders joined Hamilton County Schools as a substitute teacher in 2009, eventually becoming an educational assistant and then a teacher at Wallace A. Smith in 2017.

He was asked if he considered children sitting on a teacher’s  lap inappropriate.

Dr. Brown testified, “I’m a secondary teacher, and so I can speak on that behalf. It would be totally inappropriate for a young person to sit on a secondary teacher’s lap. I would say that’s not best practice or normal for a student to sit on a teacher’s lap unless their kid might be in a crisis.”

Forensic nurses and interviewers at the Children’s Advocacy Center said that this case in particular is a reminder of how difficult it can be for children to tell someone that something happened to them.

One of those who testified, Candy Overby, said, “Males may have a more difficult time disclosing (in cases of abuse).”

Sanders’ defense attempted to get a judgment of acquittal arguing that much of the testimony of the children was too vague.

Public defender Jay Perry argued, “Their testimony about when it happened or when it ended. For those charges to go to the jury, all it’s doing is asking (the jury) to speculate on that time frame.”

However, Hamilton County Judge Barry Steelman ruled that due to the number of witnesses, the jury should get that final say and overruled that motion.

Meanwhile, parents say this case will sting forever.

One parent said, “That was, that was tough to hear… That something had evidently transpired in a very bad way, and he was too nervous to feel comfortable to tell me.”

The defense comes back Tuesday for day five where they plan to call an expert witness.