GREENFIELD — A former teacher’s aide convicted of sexual assault faces prison time after she was caught secretly using social media accounts she hadn’t registered with the county probation department, according to court documents.
Kisha Nuckols, 40, 854 W. State Road 52, Apartment 4, Fountaintown, pleaded guilty to child seduction last year after being accused of having a sexual relationship with several Mt. Vernon High School students.
As a sex offender, she is required to register any social media accounts with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department. Additionally, no sex offender can use alcohol and drugs or possess any form of pornography during their time on probation, officials said.
A Hancock County Probation officer monitoring Nuckols during her time on home detection discovered newly posted images on Facebook that appeared to show Nuckols drinking alcohol, according to court records.
A team of investigators visited her apartment, where they found 14 bottles full of alcohol and a box of empty bottles hidden under a pile of clothing in a closet, as well as a cellphone that contained social media accounts and nude photos of Nuckols, according to court documents.
Police began investigating Nuckols last year after officials with Mt. Vernon Community School Corp., where Nuckols worked as a middle school teacher’s aide, reported rumors she sent naked photos of herself to a high school student.
Nuckols, who had also worked as a substitute teacher at Mt. Vernon High School, was charged after two Mt. Vernon High School students told investigators they had met the woman for sex separately off school grounds, charging documents state.
Then-middle school principal Scott Shipley also was prosecuted for failing to immediately report rumors of Nuckols’ conduct. Prosecutors later agreed to dismiss the case on one condition: Shipley, who remains employed as the district’s director of special programs, must give presentations at all county school districts on the importance of reporting suspected child abuse.
One victim told police he met Nuckols for sex at least 10 times. Another victim said he met Nuckols once in a neighborhood near her home, and they engaged in sex acts in his car, court records state.
Nuckols pleaded guilty to a Level 5 felony count in November, and she was sentenced to two years in Hancock County Community Corrections and two years on probation.
At the time of her sentencing, Nuckols — who was fired from her job at Mt. Vernon — agreed to attend sex-offender counseling. The woman’s psychologist, who testified on her behalf at the sentencing hearing, told a judge he would not allow Nuckols to use social media while she was under his care, officials said.
During the investigation last month, officers found a pair of cellphones in Nuckols’ bedroom. One phone had several social media apps loaded to it, including Facebook messenger and Snapchat, each of which had active accounts that were not registered with the sheriff’s department, court records state.
The cellphone contained several inappropriate images of Nuckols, including naked photographs, court documents state.
Nuckols appeared in Hancock Circuit Court Monday morning and pleaded not guilty to the probation violation, prosecutors said.
Probation officers say Nuckols’ actions “present a clear risk to the community” because she disregarded a court order. They’ve recommended she serve the remainder of her sentence in prison.
She’ll return to court on Aug. 3 for a fact-finding hearing, where a judge will weigh that request.
She was being held in the Hancock County Jail on $2,500 cash bond at press time.