In a move to protect children from online predators, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office has made a notable arrest following a proactive undercover operation aimed at the online solicitation of minors. This operation took place in the Warren County and Front Royal areas, showcasing the department’s commitment to safeguarding the community’s vulnerable youth.

The operation came to a head on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, when Samuel Funkhouser, a 33-year-old man from Romney, West Virginia, reached out to an undercover investigator posing as a juvenile under 15. During their communication, Funkhouser requested inappropriate photos and content, believing he was interacting with a young girl. He also sent obscene materials to the investigator, some of which included illegal content involving bestiality. This unsolicited and disturbing interaction was initiated entirely by Funkhouser, leading to swift actions by law enforcement.

Samuel Funkhouser, 5’11” white male, hazel eyes, and brown hair from Romney, WV
Felony Offenses: §18.2-374.3. Use of communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children (x3 counts) § 18.2-361.01. Sexual abuse of animals (x3 counts)

The investigative team, part of the Northern Virginia/DC Metro (NOVA/DC) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, coordinated by the Virginia State Police, worked diligently to identify and locate Funkhouser. On April 10, 2024, they executed their arrest with the support of the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office. Funkhouser was apprehended without incident and is now held at the Potomac Highlands Regional Jail. He faces a court date on May 15, 2024, with no bond offered due to the severity of the charges.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Office urges the community to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities concerning the exploitation of minors. Investigator C.J. McDaniel, who can be contacted at (540) 635-7100 or cmcdaniel@warrencountysheriff.org, is leading the call for community support to bring further perpetrators to justice.

This case highlights the critical importance of inter-agency collaboration, as the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office played a vital role in the successful capture of Funkhouser. The Warren County Sheriff’s Office extends its gratitude to all partners involved in this operation and remains steadfast in its resolve to combat internet crimes against children. The community is encouraged to stay informed and engaged in protecting every child from the dangers of online predators.

Two former deputies of the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, Zachary Fadley, 31, and Tyler Poe, 27, have been indicted on murder charges relating to the April 2022 death of 77-year-old Ralph C. Ennis. This decision comes after an incident following a traffic stop in Front Royal, Virginia, where Ennis, who was reportedly suffering from dementia, was tackled and subsequently died.

The Virginia State Police announced these indictments this week, noting that the incident began when deputies observed Ennis driving erratically on Route 522. The situation escalated after a short pursuit, ending in a parking lot where the confrontation occurred.

According to police reports, Ennis appeared confused during the encounter. Family members have indicated that he was suffering from dementia at the time. After being tackled and restrained by the deputies, Ennis was hospitalized with a severe head wound and died in hospice two weeks later. While the state medical examiner initially cited natural causes related to Alzheimer’s complications as the cause of death, the actions of the deputies led to further investigation.

Last year, both deputies were also indicted on charges of malicious and unlawful wounding, with those cases still pending. These latest indicators introduce more severe allegations, indicating a shift in the prosecutorial approach to the case. Fadley and Poe were arraigned this Monday and released on bond.

This case highlights ongoing concerns regarding law enforcement interactions with vulnerable populations, particularly the elderly and those with mental health issues. It also raises questions about the use of force and the responsibilities of law enforcement to handle such situations with greater care and understanding. The trials for the original charges have been delayed, and the community is closely watching to see how justice will be served in this tragic incident.

FRPD Dash Cam – Ralph Ennis

FRPD Body Cam – Ralph Ennis

Ennis Family files $6 million wrongful death lawsuit, citing excessive force by Warren County deputies

After counsel Jeremiah Egger rested the plaintiff’s case in his client, and father, Mark Egger’s $5,000 civil defamation suit against Stevi Hubbard and her daughter Cameron Thursday morning in Warren County General District Court, defense counsel Phillip Griffin rose to argue for dismissal of the civil claims action. Griffin told Judge Christopher E. Collins there was not enough substantive evidence presented by the plaintiff to continue the civil, small claims court case.

In addition to a preponderance of personal opinions on what the photo-shopped graphic at the center of the defamation claim presented, as well as the submission of plaintiff exhibits without the presence of the authors of that evidence related to the criminal investigation undertaken at the request of plaintiff Egger or his witnesses, defense counsel zeroed in on his key point. That point was no plaintiff evidence submitted of document-able damages suffered by Mark Egger as a result of the Hubbards’ believed circulation of a photo-shopped graphic of Egger in a light-colored, hooded robe.

Plaintiff Mark Egger and several other plaintiff witnesses described the superimposed garb as a “KKK” robe. Egger’s civil claim for $5,000 in damages was based on the circulation of the graphic on vehicles parked at a Samuels Public Library Board of Directors meeting in 2023 during the CleanUp Samuels Library (CSL) movement to remove LGBTQ-themed books from the library, particularly its children’s section. Both Egger and the Hubbards were involved in that library material dispute on opposing sides, Egger for removal, the Hubbards in support of maintaining the LGBTQ-themed material under guidelines established by library staff and board of directors members.

After hearing both sides argue for or against dismissal, Judge Collins recessed court for what he estimated as a 10-minute break to ponder what he had heard and relevant case law precedents. Fifteen minutes later he returned to court and granted the defense’s dismissal motion, citing a lack of any evidence of financial or personal harm to the plaintiff as a result of the Hubbards alleged actions surrounding circulation of the photo-shopped graphic of Egger.

The Hubbards and supporters leave the WC Courthouse following the dismissal of the $5,000 civil defamation claim brought against them by Mark Egger. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

Referencing plaintiff witness testimony in response to questions about how the flyer placed on Library parking lot car windshields during a Library Board of Directors meeting attended by both Egger and the Hubbards impacted their perception of Egger, Judge Collins observed, “All I heard was ‘If I didn’t know Mr. Egger, maybe’ — I’ve seen no evidence this flyer harmed his reputation.” The judge also noted that “I may have lost some sleep over this” did not meet the case law damages standard.

As previously reported surrounding earlier hearings in the case last year, Mark Egger claimed the circulated graphic he attributed to the Hubbards portrayed him as a KKK-dressed person, implying violent support of anti-black racism. Such a portrayal had negatively impacted his personal credibility and possibly cost him lost piano students due to the racist caricature, Egger asserted.

However, the Hubbards said and presented graphic support that the robed outfit superimposed on an image of Mark Egger, rather than a KKK reference, was of a hooded “Capirote” uniform once more commonly donned by European Catholics, particularly in Spanish areas, as part of an Easter season repentance for one’s sins ritual dating back as far as the Spanish Inquisition era. Egger, like many in the CSL movement, is a self-identified Catholic with background connections to Christendom College and/or St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Front Royal.

One of a number of online photos of the referenced hooded “Capirote” uniforms once more commonly donned by European Catholics, particularly in Spanish areas at least as late as the 1960s, as part of an Easter season repentance ritual dating to the Spanish Inquisition era. Below, Mark Egger speaking at a county supervisors meeting during the CleanUp Samuels Library effort last year that led up to this civil litigation. Cameron Hubbard is viewing with camcorder held up from second row seat just to speakers’ left.

In fact, defense cross-examination questions: “You were involved with the Clean Up Samuels effort for some time, weren’t you?” (“Not true” Egger quickly replied) and “You’re a member of the Catholic Church?” both brought objections from plaintiff counsel, as to relevance.

After the judge’s ruling for dismissal while leaving the courtroom, plaintiff Mark Egger, who has declined to speak to this reporter following earlier hearings, handed me a printed note, saying, “This is my comment.” Appearing to address the above-referenced CSL Samuels Library book removal controversy he had appeared to support in public comments to elected bodies, that piece of paper read: “There is no such thing as ‘transgender’. A boy cannot become a girl, and a girl cannot become a boy.”

On the defense side, Stevi and Cameron Hubbard let their attorney, Phillip Griffin, speak for them. “We’re glad that the judge made the proper decision and we’re relieved, the Hubbards have been under a fair amount of stress for the last nine months or so, since this originated,” Griffin observed. Defense counsel also addressed potential follow-up actions in the wake of Judge Collins dismissal of the civil claims against his clients.

From left, Cameron and Stevi Hubbard were all smiles with attorney Phillip Griffin after dismissal of Mark Egger’s $5,000 civil claim of defamation against them.

“The Virginia Code says that if you are successful in defending a 1st Amendment case, which is a defamation of character, freedom of speech-type case, that you may recover all your attorneys fees. And so we are going to decide when and where the appropriate time to make that request is. It’s clear that the judge did not want to address that issue today. So, we’ll have to come back on another date,” Griffin explained.

It was asked if that implied additional litigation related to this case. “So, the judge made the comment that if you accuse somebody of a crime and it turns out they didn’t do it, then you can get opened up to a defamation case. And as you heard from the evidence, there was a request that a law enforcement investigation be opened up directed towards the Hubbards, both of them,” Griffin noted, adding, “And that’s something we’ll consider when we make the claim for attorney’s fees.”

In the first of what is now forecast to be a three-part sentencing hearing for former Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Director Jennifer McDonald, Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon heard arguments from federal prosecutors and federal court-appointed defense attorneys on several aspects of the evidence to be presented during this sentencing hearing. That evidence included what we counted as 30 “Objections”, largely from the defense side, to the precedence of evidence submitted by the other side in written summaries to the court leading up to Tuesday’s Phase One start of McDonald’s sentencing. Also argued were “Forfeiture” of her assets, “Restitution”, and “Special Conditions” being sought at sentencing from both the prosecution and defense. While Judge Dillon ruled on a number of these objections, she took some under advisement, seeking written support from both sides to their motions. She then estimated a one-week break to review submitted material prior to starting Part Two of the sentencing hearing, and the setting of a date for Part Three when the 47-year-old McDonald is anticipated to find out the court’s ruling on arguments for relative leniency (6 years) by her legal team, versus 22 years near the top end of sentencing guidelines by federal prosecutors.

One correction from our sentencing preview story, the prosecution is seeking a 22-year sentence, not 24 years, still near the upper sentencing ranges, with the 24-months sought for Aggravated Identity Theft by McDonald against Truc “Curt” Tran tacked on to a total of 240 months (20 years) on McDonald’s other 29 convictions on fraud and money laundering counts.

The Harrisonburg federal courthouse is the scene of a now 3-part drama that will decide the fate of former EDA Executive Director Jennifer McDonald’s incarceration. Royal Examiner File Photos

That Judge Dillon has taken a firm hold of the context of this sentencing hearing on McDonald’s 30 criminal convictions related to the unauthorized and/or fraudulent use and movement of EDA assets estimated in the millions of dollars was her opening the hearing at 9 a.m. April 9, with the observation, “We’re here for Part One” of the sentencing hearing. Near the end of the sentencing hearing’s Part One around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, the judge noted she was taking arguments on the Restitution aspect “under advisement”.

In addition to the prosecution and defense counsels arguments upholding their side of the case law on their motions for lesser or harsher sentencing of McDonald, three witnesses were heard from on April 9. They were recently retired Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Board of Directors Chairman Scott Jenkins, Cherry Bekaert financial investigator Scott McKay, and former FR-WC EDA Administrative Assistant to Jennifer McDonald, Michelle “Missy” Henry. All three were called by the prosecution. In turn they illustrated various economic, financial, and personal impacts of McDonald’s now-convicted-of financial crimes.

A shot of the EDA Board of Directors earlier this year with Scott Jenkins, at the far end of the table, serving as chairman prior to the expiration of his term at the end of February. Jenkins retired to devote more time to Mountain Bed & Breakfast, the family business. However, on Tuesday, April 9, he was in federal court testifying to the devastating economic impacts on the EDA and County of the estimated $26-million misappropriation of EDA assets believed orchestrated by Jennifer McDonald.

First called, Scott Jenkins, not only described the current financial insolvency of the FR-WC EDA in the wake of the estimated $26-million “financial scandal” during McDonald’s leadership during which she is believed to have diverted $6.5 million to her personal benefit, but also a rise in mistrust between the involved municipal entities, the Town of Front Royal and Warren County’s elected, decision-making bodies, and both municipalities’ co-founded over half a century ago quasi-governmental institution, the FR-WC EDA. That distrust arose in great part, Jenkins described, from the Town of Front Royal pulling out from its 34% share of the cost of the EDA-overseen construction of Leach Run Parkway within the town limits, as well as other arguments against shared liability for EDA “financial scandal” losses.

One might note that those lack of shared liability arguments came despite the Town’s proactive involvement in enabling EDA financial scandal era projects, most notably the ITFederal $10-million loan now believed to have been acquired under false pretenses orchestrated by McDonald, and some believe then-Sixth District of Virginia U.S. Congressman Bob Goodlatte. Goodlatte, who in 2017 pushed an initiative to remove third-party ethical oversight of the U.S. Congress, trumpeted ITFederal as a great economic development partner for this community. It appeared that partnership would be built on myriad federal contracts totaling $140-million, that it turned out ITFederal only had the opportunity to bid on.

Circa 2016, former Va. Congressman “Bob” Goodlatte, at the podium, thought Truc “Curt” Tran’s ITFederal company would be a boon to local economic development at the troubled Royal Phoenix/former Avtex Superfund site. It seems he was wrong, as Tran and his company were found liable in civil court for the largest single amount of ill-gotten EDA funds, a $10-million loan believed to be achieved under false pretenses, along with an additional $2 million received in additional “developmental costs”. That civil court finding is under appeal by Tran and his company.

Michelle Henry described her friendship and long-time co-worker status with McDonald dating to 2012, and the impact of being associated with the financial improprieties from that administrative assistant’s relationship to McDonald. She described being called to her home where she was arrested in 2019 and shackled in front of a young grandchild, and then spending 30 days in jail after losing her job on the presumption of being involved in McDonald’s now convicted-of crimes. Asked if it affected her, Henry replied, “It changed everything about me … Everything about me is different. Everything I viewed about people,” she said, adding that for a time she couldn’t hold a job — “I couldn’t think straight,” she said. She noted a community-wide assumption of guilt and hostility directed, not only toward McDonald, but her way as well after she was arrested. The charges against Henry were eventually dropped, as they were against most, if not all, locally charged believed co-conspirators due to local prosecutors running up against speedy trial statutes and then change of venue moves.

Henry and defense counsel sparred over Henry’s description of being “found innocent” criminally and civilly versus having the charges dropped and not refiled. In opening its cross examination of Henry defense counsel posed these questions: “Jennifer McDonald didn’t arrest you? Jennifer McDonald didn’t file charges against you?” to make the point that Henry’s negative experience was not generated by their client, but rather by the legal and law enforcement systems reaction to the EDA “financial scandal” investigation.

Perhaps Henry’s most tellingly emotional comment began about an unnamed friend: “I spoke at my best friend’s funeral. This isn’t far from that,” she said of her testimony at Part One of the now three-phased McDonald sentencing hearing.

Cherry Bekaert financial investigator Scott McKay sparred with lead defense counsel Andrea Harris on a dizzying array of financial transactions uncovered by his company’s review of several years of EDA financial transactions and annual audits once suspicions began to surface. This line of cross examination helped reveal part of the defense’s strategy in seeking a lesser sentence, as McDonald’s attorneys noted a lack of due diligence oversight of McDonald’s EDA transactions from all levels of involved entities. That included the appointed EDA board of directors and the two municipal elected bodies that appointed that EDA board. It may be noted that the Town voluntarily gave up EDA board appointment authority in 2012 after being relieved of operational funding responsibility of the EDA as part of another effort not to double tax town citizens for services provided county-wide, as they are citizens of both the town and county.

Jennifer McDonald, with a portion of her EDA board, before that board developed suspicions about her movement of EDA assets to the personal benefit of herself and others. Under increasing closed meeting scrutiny by her board, among others, McDonald resigned by email on Dec. 20, 2018. By May of 2019 she faced the initial of several arrests related to her unauthorized movement of millions of dollars of EDA funds.

But that was then, this is now. Stay tuned as Parts Two and Three of the latest chapter of what has evolved into this community’s own soap opera, crime drama, continue to play out in the federal courthouse in Harrisonburg, Virginia, in the coming week or weeks.

According to court documents filed in the run up to the April 9 sentencing hearing of former Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Jennifer McDonald a sentencing range of from 6 years to 24 years will be argued between defense and prosecution counsels in Harrisonburg’s 10th Western District of Virginia courthouse this Tuesday. Both sides will present witnesses to bolster their sentencing requests. It might be noted that McDonald is 47 years old.

According to the prosecution’s filing of its Sentencing Memorandum to the court: “The Government recommends a total sentence of 22 years, or 240 months (20 years) for the fraud and money laundering counts, to be followed by 24 months (2 years) for aggravated identity theft, to satisfy the factors enumerated in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). The Government further requests the Court order restitution to the EDA in the amount of $3,544,268.60 and enter a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $5,201,329. The Government further recommends a period of supervised release of three years and that no fine be imposed.”

As to their prison time recommendation federal prosecutors note that: “The United States Sentencing Guidelines, as calculated in McDonald’s Pre-sentence Investigation Report (“PSR”), ECF No. 248, call for a range of imprisonment of 235 (19.7 years) to 293 months (24.5 years), to be followed by a consecutive 24-month (2 year) term of imprisonment for Count 18, Aggravated Identify Theft.”

On Tuesday, April 9, the federal courthouse in Harrisonburg will see the end of the long and winding road of criminal prosecution in the Jennifer McDonald chapter of the 2014-2018 FR-WC EDA “financial scandal”.

The additional two years on the aggravated identity theft charge involves another EDA “financial scandal” figure, ITFederal principal Truc “Curt” Tran. Tran is on the prosecution’s list of sentencing witnesses to testify to damage done to his reputation locally by McDonald’s, citing him as an interested party in a real estate transaction he said he had no knowledge of. It was one of the transactions cited by the prosecution as ways McDonald used, or attempted to use, to move money to her own, or other alleged co-conspirator’s, benefit.

Prosecution Point

In seeking a harsh sentence at the upper end of sentencing guideline recommendations the prosecution writes to the court: “For more than four years, Jennifer McDonald used the bank accounts and credit facilities of the Warren County Economic Development Authority (“EDA”) as her personal piggy bank, diverting public funds to purchase real estate and to pay her personal expenses. She falsified documents to fool the EDA’s Board of Directors, external auditors, and Warren County (“County”) and Front Royal (“Town”) government officials so she could continue and grow her scheme, reaping ever-growing payoffs. She employed elaborate ruses, including pretending to act as Truc Tran, to obscure her blatant theft of taxpayer dollars. Instead of acting for the general good of Warren County, McDonald pilfered the EDA’s bank accounts. In the end, her actions crippled the EDA. Due to Jennifer McDonald, a public agency designed to improve Warren County is now saddled with debt, and it is the taxpayers of Warren County who are now directly paying for her crimes.”

Defense Counterpoint

On the defense side, they question the cited guidelines origins and point to a lifetime of personal, financial, and professional consequences McDonald faces as a result of the 30 specific actions she was convicted of related to the FR-WC EDA financial scandal: “Jennifer McDonald submits this sentencing memorandum in support of her request for a total sentence of 72 months (48 months on Counts 1-13 and 19-34 plus 24 months on Count 18) followed by four years of supervised release. The sentence requested is sufficient but not greater than necessary to achieve the purposes of sentencing set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2).

“The current guideline range provides no useful advice to the court, as it was not developed based on empirical data or national experience and it fails to satisfy any purpose of sentencing. It recommends a sentencing range that is far greater than necessary to punish Ms. McDonald because she poses an extraordinarily low risk of recidivism and has been destroyed personally, financially, and professionally because of her convictions. The collateral consequences already felt by Ms. McDonald vastly exceed that of an ordinary case and weigh in favor of a sentence of 72 months (6 years).”

Defense counsel, on behalf of their client, further describe McDonald’s roots here and the lifetime consequences of the actions she has been convicted of: “Front Royal is Jennifer McDonald’s hometown. She has lived in Front Royal for her entire life, except for the four years she went to college in North Carolina. Her family’s roots in Front Royal go back generations, and Jennifer has devoted her adult career to working for and on behalf of the people of Front Royal and Warren County. But now she is a pariah in the town she loves because of her offenses.”

Also submitted on McDonald’s behalf is a letter to Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon from a woman describing a 30-year friendship with McDonald that began when the woman moved to the area with her family when a high school junior. “I know that Jennifer is charged with a serious offense, but I would like to give you additional information about her for your consideration,” she begins.

She then traces the personal difficulty of making friends in a tightly knit, small-town community environment at that age, continuing, “However, Jennifer went out of her way to make me feel welcome and that I wasn’t going to spend my last two years as a high schooler friendless. Jennifer has been my friend since then,” she observes, adding, “When my father passed away suddenly, she was the first person I called and she came immediately to help me as I dealt with the sadness and grief. Jennifer is my best friend. Thank you for your consideration,” the woman says in conclusion of another side of defendant Jennifer McDonald not presented as evidence in her criminal trial.

How may Judge Dillon balance what she hears in support of prosecution and defense arguments and witness testimony about community and personal repercussions of the acts Jennifer McDonald was convicted of by a federal court jury on November 1st? Will we find out this Tuesday, April 9. Stay tuned.

After Tuesday, Jennifer McDonald will once again be sporting incarceration clothing. The question remains, for how long for the 47-year-old. An answer at some point between 6 and 24 years is pending according to pre-sentencing defense and prosecution filings.

The final of six charges against former Hilda J. Barbour pre-school teacher Kayla Ann Bennett related to allegations of verbal and physical abuse of two of her 3 to 4-year-old students was resolved by plea agreement Thursday morning, April 4, in Warren County Circuit Court. It was a multi-faceted agreement reached after several motions and discussion between defense counsel Thomas Plofchan and Commonwealth’s Attorney John Bell before Judge Daryl Funk.

Bennett was scheduled for a jury trial on a second felony count of Cruelty/Injure a Child on the Circuit Court morning docket. As previously reported four misdemeanor counts of  of Assault and Battery and another felony count of Child Cruelty, the latter scheduled for the April 2nd docket, had previously been dismissed (Nolle Prosequi or nul pross) by the prosecution due to a combination of witness availabilities and running up against speedy trial statutes.

Following a 40-minute adjournment to allow discussion between counsels, at 10:20 a.m. the pre-trial hearing reconvened with the pool of potential jurors remaining in the second-floor hallway. Judge Funk referenced a “three-page handwritten plea agreement” that began with a motion to amend the indictment from a felony to a misdemeanor charge of abusive Child Neglect/in Need of Services to which Bennett, still asserting her innocence, would enter a Not Guilty plea to. However, after a summary of the evidence that would have been brought at trial by both sides, the defendant acknowledged the Commonwealth’s evidence related to verbal abuse and an alleged hand slap across a student’s face the Commonwealth contended was witnessed by a teacher’s aide, defendant Bennett acknowledged “the risk” of a guilty verdict at trial in accepting the agreement.

And in fact, the plea agreement included the rendering of a guilty verdict to the reduced charge by Judge Funk, after which a sentence of six months in jail, all suspended, with a 12-month probation period of good behavior attached as a condition of the suspended jail sentence. Bennett would also be responsible for court costs for the day’s hearing. An additional condition of not applying for a future teaching job in Warren County was also accepted by the defendant. And the conviction on her record would seem to be a roadblock to future teaching employment in general.

The WC Courthouse saw, not only an agreed-upon conviction to a lesser charge against Kayla Bennett, but also some parental dissatisfaction with that plea agreement resolution of the Hilda J Barbour pre-school student abuse allegation against the former teacher. Royal Examiner File Photo

During the summary of evidence that would have been presented at trial, defense counsel Plofchan noted he would have challenged the credibility of the prosecution’s main witness, a teacher’s aide identified as Cassandra Carter. He asserted that the aide was to be removed from her position in Bennett’s classroom and consequently held a grudge against the teacher. Thus the aide had a motive to fabricate the cursing and slapping incident and general negative portrayal of Bennett’s classroom conduct, the defense would contend.

The Commonwealth countered that teacher’s aide Carter would testify that during the time-frame of the alleged abusive behavior Bennett was having an increasingly difficult time coping with her classroom environment, often losing her temper and using abusive language toward students.

After querying the defendant on her understanding of all elements of the plea agreement, and the summarizing of those elements by counsels, at 10:50 a.m. a half hour after court was reconvened to review the agreement, Judge Funk accepted Bennett’s not-guilty plea to the reduced charge and imposed the guilty verdict with the conditions as described above.

That the plea agreement was not popular with at least one spectator became apparent with several loud verbal outbursts directed at Commonwealth’s Attorney Bell, then at deputies asked to remove him from the courtroom. That man later verified to this reporter that he was an involved parent. Following resolution of the Bennett plea agreement, the man was escorted back into the courtroom by deputies and seated at the now empty defense table. Judge Funk called his behavior “unacceptable” and said he was lucky not to be exiting this time through the side door to jail to serve a 10-day sentence (all suspended) the court was imposing on him for Contempt of Court, along with a $100 fine, not suspended, to be paid by May 8.

As previously reported, past courtroom discussion and related filings and public school releases on the allegations indicated the charges against Bennett revolved around a parental belief the teacher initiated verbal and physically abusive conduct against two of her special needs, pre-school students aged 3 to 4 years, with the incidents occurring “between January 4 through May 5” of 2023. Bennett taught a pre-school class of 20 children ages 2 to 5, with most children 3-to-4 years old. Half of Bennett’s class were considered Special Needs students.