Mitchell
Mecklenburg County High School teacher Claire Wright Mitchell of South Hill, who stands accused of taking indecent liberties with minor, was released from prison on a $25,000 bond following a court hearing Wednesday in Boydton.
Mitchell’s attorney, Charles Crowder, successfully argued that she is not a flight risk and that her family could successfully prevent her from using social media or other electronic devices to contact students or other minors.
Mecklenburg Circuit Judge S. Anderson Nelson ordered Mitchell to remain under house arrest with electronic monitoring, remain drug, alcohol, marijuana and THC free and submit to substance abuse monitoring as a condition of her bond. She is also to have no contact with anyone under the age of 18, and is not allowed on any school property nor allowed access to the internet or social media.
Mitchell was arrested on April 23 after a Mecklenburg County grand jury charged her with one felony count of taking indecent liberties with child by a person in a custodial or supervisory relationship, and one felony count of using the internet, a computer network, or other communication device to solicit sex with a minor.
The charges stemmed from an incident or incidents that took place in August 2023, according to court records.
Crowder said “at this point she [defendant Claire Mitchell] is presumed innocent. She is not a flight risk, has no prior criminal record, not even a traffic violation, and has good people here who are willing to be responsible for her.”
Her parents and husband both agreed to put up their homes as collateral for the $25,000 bond. Mitchell has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has not been found guilty by a jury or the court. In fact, no trial date has been set in her case.
Crowder argued that the prosecution had shown no urgency in proceeding with the case, a claim disputed by Commonwealth’s Attorney Allen Nash in court Wednesday. Crowder claimed that law enforcement was aware of the allegations in February but that Mitchell was not indicted until April.
Nash said the allegations involving the teacher were investigated by the school starting in February. They were brought to the attention of law enforcement in April and she was indicted by the grand jury, also in April.
Nash argued against her pre-trial release, presenting evidence that he said established that Mitchell had engaged in acts of “grooming” young victims. Her actions further included electronic solicitation, one instance of attempted inappropriate conduct with a minor and one instance of actual inappropriate conduct with a minor that included intercourse, Nash said.
He called her conduct “incredibly disturbing” and told Nelson that there was no way to insure the safety of minors.
Nash implied that Mitchell’s husband, Mecklenburg County High School coach Dakota Mitchell, was not a reliable person to supervise his wife during her release on bond. To support that claim, Nash offered evidence that Dakota Mitchell was present at an episode in which his wife is accused of “grooming victims” and pointing out that Dakota was unaware of the fact that his wife is accused of having sexual relations with a student while she was supposed to be driving the student home from school.
Nash said student athletes from Mecklenburg County High School claimed that Claire Mitchell made them feel uncomfortable during a field trip where she had them practice water aerobics at a hotel pool which she led while wearing a bikini.
Nash shared no details on how or why this made the students uncomfortable or how this act constituted “sexual grooming.” He recounted the students saying that Dakota Mitchell was sitting in a nearby hot tub during the water aerobics incident, but Nash did not suggest that his presence or anything he said added to the discomfort of the students.
Also, there was no suggestion that Dakota Mitchell was at the home the couple shared during the time his wife is alleged to have engaged in indecent conduct with a student. In fact, he testified that to the best of his knowledge his wife had never brought a student to their home.
Nash asked him, “so you would do anything to protect your wife?” Dakota Mitchell replied, “Yes.”
Nash proffered several other pieces of evidence that he said showed Claire Mitchell was not a good candidate for a bond. The evidenced consisted of a report from the pre-trial officer at Piedmont Court Services in which Mitchell is said to have admitted to using THC products on a weekly basis, statements from students who claimed that Mitchell admitted to being in a relationship with a student that she identified by name, photos of her naked breast that she is said to have sent to a second student she allegedly solicited for sex, and claims that Dakota Mitchell asked to speak with several students “alone” after learning that his wife was accused of soliciting and having inappropriate relations with a student.
Crowder pointed out that none of what Nash offered to the court constituted admissible evidence against his client. Moreover, the pre-trial report recommended that she be released on bond.
Crowder had asked for the bond to be set at $10,000 telling Nelson that some of the evidence Nash proffered would be disproved at the trial.
Nelson set bond at $25,000, secured.
Claire Wright Mitchell was still being held at Meherrin River Regional Jail on Thursday following her bond hearing. Nash speculated that no one had produced the money needed to pay for the electronic monitoring device Mitchell would have to wear during her pre-trial release. He said the defendant must pay for the device which he said cost about $25 per day.
Her next court date is Monday, May 20. At that hearing the court could set a trial date for Mitchell’s case.
Mitchell has been a physical education/health teacher, starting at Park View High School in August 2019 before moving to Mecklenburg County High School when it opened in August 2022. She had been absent from the school for several months leading up to her arrest.
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