A 47-Year old Newport man Johnathon Sutherland was arrested on Monday October 7th and faces charges of 16 felony counts of encouraging child sex abuse in the 1st and 2nd degree. According to court documents the investigation involves the alleged upload of images containing children over the course of nearly two years on a mobile device and on a computer. His bail is set at $500,000. Sutherland had been employed as a PE teacher at Sam Case Elementary and was put on leave September 30th 2022.
In a statement posted on the Lincoln County School District website superintendent Dr. Karen Gray stated that the district is aware of the information that has been published and they have fully cooperated with all agencies and removed the teacher promptly after being notified by law enforcement. "At this time, to our knowledge, this matter does not impact any student who has been at Sam Case during the teacher’s employment with us."