Keith Ervin Charged With Assault Over April 2 Student Contact, Board Says It Cannot Remove Him
Updated
Updated · WCYB · May 20
Keith Ervin Charged With Assault Over April 2 Student Contact, Board Says It Cannot Remove Him
13 articles · Updated · WCYB · May 20
Court records show Washington County, Tennessee, school board member Keith Ervin has been charged with assault-physical contact over an April 2 incident involving a student board member.
Video from that meeting showed Ervin touching the student, calling her "hot" and asking what school she attends, conduct the board chair had already condemned as objectifying a young woman.
A week after the meeting, the board unanimously censured Ervin, and the student later told the board his actions were unwelcome, sexist and derogatory.
The Board of Education said it will leave the case to law enforcement and the courts, noting Tennessee law bars the board from removing an independently elected member from office.
After a past censure for lewd conduct, how did a school board member end up facing assault charges for a new incident?
If a school board can't fire a member over his conduct with a student, who holds him accountable?
He claims 'hot' meant 'on a roll,' but the charge is assault. Will a jury decide what he really meant?