Tennessee School Board Member Who Called Student ‘Hot’ at Public Meeting Charged with Assault

A rural Tennessee school board member who hugged a teenage girl and told her, “God, you’re hot” at a public meeting in April has been charged with assault.

Court records reportedly show the charge stems from an incident in early April when board member Keith Irvin put his arm around the girl, a student member of the board, and made the remark after she wrapped up a presentation about career and technical education.

Ervin did not immediately respond to an email from NBC News seeking comment Tuesday night.

As Breitbart News reported last month, while posting video of the incident, Ervin, a local dairy farmer, said he was entirely misunderstood and claimed he was not talking about her appearance but her intellectual ability and the depth of her presentation on technical education.

“God, you’re hot,” the video shows him saying. “Do you know that? Damn. Where do you go to school at.”

However, the assault charge follows the public comment part of a May 7 board meeting, where the student called the adult members of the body “cowards” for what she characterized as their “failure to act.”

NBC reported:

“To begin, I want to address Ervin’s actions, which were not only unwelcome, but sexist and derogatory,” she said, standing at a podium in front of the members, including Ervin, who sat with his arms crossed as she spoke. “I know this because he has not behaved this way with any of our male members, nor do I believe that he ever would.”

At that meeting, the board censured Ervin, who has been a member of the body since 2006, and also said in statement that, under Tennessee law, school board members are independently elected officials and school boards do not have the authority to remove them.

Semi-rural Washington County, which is located at the northeastern tip of the state, is Tennessee’s oldest county. Its seat of Jonesborough ranks as the state’s oldest town, with a population of roughly 6,000.

Apparently, the recent incident was not the first time Ervin has gotten into trouble with his colleagues. In 2009 he was censured over a lewd sexual gesture he admitted to making in front of students and teachers at a public meeting, news outlet WJHL reported, based on a board memorandum.

The Washington County Board of Education issued a statement, saying, “The Board reiterates that Mr. Ervin’s actions do not reflect the standards, policies, or values of the school district. The Board remains committed to ensuring a safe, respectful, and appropriate environment for all students and staff.”

It added, “The Board will defer to law enforcement and the judicial system for the resolution of these charges.”

Ervin’s first court appearance is scheduled for August.

Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.