Williams no longer on paid leave

Published 6:48 pm Monday, February 3, 2014

A former Selma City School employee, facing criminal charges involving inappropriate behavior with a student has received a court date.

According to District Attorney Michael Jackson, former Selma High School teacher LaTanglia Williams, who was arrested in April for sexual misconduct with a student, is set to appear in court April 7.

Williams has been charged with possession of obscene matter containing visual depiction of persons under the age of 17 involved in obscene acts, electronic solicitation of a child, enticing a minor for immoral purposes and a misdemeanor charge for a school employee having sexual contact with a student. Williams received a new charge in October for allegedly having sexual intercourse with a student younger than 19.

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“We are just proceeding to be ready to try the case in April,” Jackson said.

He said no new details have come about since the additional charge in October.

Williams was placed on paid administrative leave following her first charge last April.

“At this point, Ms. Williams is on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the charges against her,” Selma City School Board attorney Katy Campbell said. “Now, if she prevails on any one of those charges, our board would be able to reinstate her and pay her back pay.”

Campbell said Williams was put on unpaid administrative leave in December after Williams’ attorney filed a temporary restraining order.

“Basically under that temporary restraining order, they did not want a board hearing to proceed, because of the case that is pending, citing that she would not be able to adequately represent herself,” Campbell said. “The judge allowed the parties to come to a mutual agreement based on the law, and we did.”

She said that part of the agreement was Williams would no longer be on paid administrative leave.

District Judge Bob Armstrong ultimately set Williams’ bond at $100,000 in April.

“I have heard the testimony and she has no criminal record and is a responsible citizen, unlike the people I usually see,” Armstrong said during the bond hearing.

It was Williams’ case that ignited the call for an investigation in to the Selma City School System, which the State Department of Education began last summer. The findings of the report, released in November, lead to evidence of sexual misconduct along with a list of other state and federal violations.

The Times-Journal reported Williams would not be allowed to have contact with children, visit any school campuses, organize or coordinate youth events for her church or sorority, contact the alleged victims and their families and must live with her parents until the time of her trial.