By Lynn Hotaling
and Carey Phillips
A former Smoky Mountain High band director who three months
ago pleaded no contest to charges of taking indecent liberties
with a student will not serve jail time.
Mike Sanford, 44, of Bryson City, received a suspended sentence
in Jackson County Superior Court Monday.
Judge James Downs sentenced Sanford to between eight and 10
months, saying the sentence would be suspended "as mandated
by the Legislature."
Sanford will be placed on probation for five years, pay a $500
fine and costs and make $1,025 in restitution to the victim
for counseling she has already received. He will also be financially
responsible for any additional treatment the victim receives
during the term of his probation.
Judge Downs ordered Sanford to surrender his teaching license,
"not actively engage in any aspect of teaching," and
have no contact with children under the age of 18 unless he
is accompanied by at least one other adult. Sanford's children
were exempted from that order.
Sanford will have to register as a sex offender, participate
in and complete a sex offender treatment program and not have
any contact with the victim or her family, Judge Downs said.
Prior to sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Monica Leslie
presented the details of the state's case.
Sanford and the victim, a sophomore band student, exchanged
a series of e-mails that began friendly, became flirtatious
and were eventually sexually explicit, Leslie said.
When Sanford gave the victim a ride home on Dec. 7, 2002, the
two exchanged a "tongue kiss" in the victim's driveway,
Leslie said.
Sanford apologized in court to the victim and her family.
"I apologize to the family, the community and the teaching
profession for the mistakes I've made," Sanford said. "I'm
very sorry for what I've done."
Sanford's attorney, Frank Lay, depicted his client's actions
as one "very bad mistake" in what had otherwise been
an exemplary 20-plus year career as a band teacher in Swain
and Jackson counties.
"Mr. Sanford has been a man who dedicated his life to public
service - he pushed his students to do their very best,"
Lay said. "He has openly and honestly admitted his mistakes."
In a voice choked with tears, the victim's mother described
how the incident has impacted her daughter.
"I thought by this time she would have made more progress,"
the mother said. "She does not enjoy life. She does not
enjoy music and drama, things she used to do.
"She has been robbed of the rest of her childhood. I have
a very strong resentment because of that," she said.
Sanford's impropriety came to light after the victim told one
of her girlfriends about her correspondence with Sanford and
showed the friend some e-mails, Leslie said in April. The victim's
friend then took them to her mother, who passed the e-mails
along to SMHS Principal Kenny Nicholson (now suspended with
pay for unspecified reasons), who notified law enforcement.
Sanford's December arrest marked the third time in less than
two years that a county high school teacher faced sex-related
charges.
Former SMHS biology teacher Nathan Hopper, 51, received a prison
sentence in July 2002 after pleading guilty to taking indecent
liberties with his daughter, a 2002 SMHS graduate, when she
was between the ages of 11 and 14.
Charges against Hopper surfaced six months after a June 2001
sex scandal involving a teacher and school resource officer
at Blue Ridge rocked that community.
Former Blue Ridge Athletic Director Joe Brooks pleaded guilty
to having sex with a student and facilitating students having
sex with each other at his home and in his office during school
hours. Brooks began serving a five-year prison sentence in November
2001.
Former Jackson County Sheriff's Office Deputy Robbie Hess, Blue
Ridge's school resource officer at the time of the incidents,
pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for his role in assisting
Brooks. Hess received a suspended sentence.
