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In addition, the Grand Jury considered six counts of indecent liberties with a child with the dates of alleged offenses given as on or about fall 1995, spring 1996, fall 1996, spring 1997, fall 1997 and spring 1998.
Assistant District Attorney Monica Leslie said Monday that she "cleaned up dates" and presented the Grand Jury with 19 charges she thought had the best chance of succeeding at trial.
The state will resubmit the charges during the Grand Jury's Jan. 28 session, Leslie said.
"Just because the Grand Jury didn't indict doesn't mean the charges are dropped," Leslie said.
District Attorney Charles Hipps said he is "mystified" by the Grand Jury's refusal to indict Hopper.
"I have no idea what went on in there," he said of Monday's Grand Jury deliberations.
Hipps acknowledged that it's unusual for the state to resubmit charges to a Grand Jury.
"Obviously, we have to take a different tack and bring more evidence to a different Grand Jury," Hipps said.
The district attorney said his staff would present more technical information to the next Grand Jury.
"It's a matter that cannot just be ignored," Hipps said of the charges against Hopper.
Court officials said the same charge can only be resubmitted to a Grand Jury if more evidence is presented.
Hopper remains jailed under a $1.5 million bond, thought to be the highest ever set in Jackson County.
Bond was set so high because of the number of charges and the fact that the alleged victim is a member of the defendant's household, Hipps said, and is a standard bond for this type of offense.
Waynesville attorney Roy Patton, Hopper's court-appointed defender, said a decision has not been reached with regard to seeking a bond reduction hearing.
Patton, who has experience as both a prosecutor and defense attorney, said Monday that it is unusual for a Grand Jury not to return indictments. It is also irregular, he said, for the state to proceed with charges when a Grand Jury fails to indict.
"Normally if the Grand Jury didn't return a bill, we gave up on the case," said Patton, who served as district attorney for the 30th Prosecutorial District from 1986-90. The burden of proof required for a Grand Jury to indict is much less than what is required during a jury trial, Patton said.
"A Grand Jury doesn't have to find guilt," Patton said. "(The state) only has to produce evidence that a crime probably occurred and that the defendant probably committed it. And they only have to convince 12 of 18 members."
If the state cannot succeed before a Grand Jury, Patton said, it seems unlikely that 12 jurors could be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of a defendant's guilt.
Documents filed Nov. 28 charge Hopper with 30 counts of first-degree sex offense for molesting a child under the age of 13. The child involved, a family member, was about 10 years old at the time the alleged abuse began and 14 when it ceased, said Detective Jimmy Clawson of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department. The alleged abuse stopped approximately three years ago, he said.
Charges against Hopper stem from information supplied to the Sheriff's Department by the Jackson County Department of Social Services, said Detective David Grant. Hopper and his wife, Jo Anne, who reported the alleged crime, are engaged in divorce proceedings as a result of the allegations of abuse, Clawson said.
Hopper's arrest came as the school system is recovering from a sex scandal that rocked Blue Ridge School in June.
Former teacher and Athletic Joe Brooks pleaded guilty in July to having sex with a student and facilitating students having sex with each other both at his home and in his office during school hours. Brooks was sentenced last month to five years in prison.
Former deputy and Blue Ridge resource officer Robbie Hess pleaded guilty last month to obstruction of justice for his role in assisting Brooks. Hess received a suspended sentence.
The alleged incidents involve a child Hopper met outside of school, said SMHS Principal Kenny Nicholson and Superintendent Mack McCary. Hopper has been suspended indefinitely without pay, McCary said.
By all accounts, Hopper was a well-liked and effective teacher. Nicholson and several students spoke well of him.
A native of Louisiana, Hopper moved to Cullowhee in 1992 and began teaching August 1993 at Blue Ridge School, where he remained employed for five and a half years before transferring to Smoky Mountain in January 1999.
Sports Editor Carey Phillips contributed to this report.
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