A Smith County Middle School coach has pleaded guilty to multiple sex crimes involving minors.  Jamal Carter was arrested in March of 2022 after allegations surfaced of inappropriate communications with minors.  Carter was a basketball coach and PE teacher at Smith County Middle School at the time of his arrest, and was immediately suspended by the school system and barred from having contact with the school or students.  An investigation by the Smith County Sheriff’s Department resulted in additional charges against Carter being returned by the April Smith County Grand Jury. 

Carter pleaded guilty in the case to two counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of solicitation of sexual exploitation of a minor, and one count of solicitation of sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means.  Carter was sentenced to serve twenty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction for his crimes.  Carter will also be labeled a violent sex offender and will be required to remain on the sex offender registry for the remainder of his life.

  District Attorney Jason Lawson credited the Smith County Sheriff’s Office for the result.  “I am very grateful for the hard work of the Smith County Sheriff’s Office in this case” said Lawson.  “Because of their diligence we were able to achieve justice.  Their excellent investigation, going above and beyond at every stage in this case, shows the commitment of the Sheriff Hopper’s Department to the safety of this community and its children.”