A former assistant teacher at Eupora High School has pleaded guilty to statutory rape of a minor who was a student in her class.
Kayla M. Tindall of Eupora pleaded guilty to the felony charge on Jan. 10 at the Webster County Courthouse, Circuit Court records show.
Circuit Judge George Mitchell Jr. sentenced her to serve a term of 15 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections; his order specifies that “six years are to be served.”
After serving six years she is to be released and placed on nine years of post-release supervision with five years being supervised and four years non-supervised probation. Tindall is to be given credit for time served on the charge,
Additionally, Mitchell ordered her to pay an assessment of $1,000 to the Mississippi Children’s Trust Fund. The fund’s primary purpose is to encourage and provide financial assistance in the provision of direct services to prevent child abuse and neglect. She must also pay court costs. As required by state law, Tindall must register with authorities as a convicted sex offender within three days of her release from custody.
The judge ordered her to be remanded to the custody of the sheriff to await transportation to MDOC. She was booked into the Webster County Jail that afternoon and remained there as of Monday.
Tindall, 34, was indicted June 21 on the statutory rape charge, according to court records made public Friday. The grand jury’s indictment states that between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31, 2019, she had sexual intercourse with a child “at least 14 but under 16 years of age and 36 or more months younger than the defendant.” The maximum sentence for the statute section under which she was convicted is 30 years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.
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Background of Case
Tindall was charged with statutory rape in February 2020 in an affidavit filed by the
Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. Neither the affidavit or subsequent indictment referred to her occupation at the time, which was as an assistant teacher at EHS, or that the victim was one of her students. However, this was confirmed in a subsequent civil lawsuit filed by the child’s parents.
Although the grand jury indictment states the victim was at least 14, the MBI affidavit and lawsuit give his age at the time as 13. According to the suit, he was an eighth-grade student in her class and Tindall was involved in an inappropriate relationship with him.
Then-Superintendent Brian Jones did state just days before she was charged that EHS administrators had been made aware of alleged misconduct by an employee, who was not named. He said an immediate investigation was initiated into the allegation by the school district, sheriff’s office and MBI. Jones also said the employee in question was no longer employed by Webster County Schools.
Tindall’s case was apparently presented directly to the grand jury without her having been bound over from Justice Court, where a planned preliminary hearing was repeatedly continued but never held.
A record of the indictment was not filed in Circuit Court until Friday afternoon, which is when Circuit Clerk Sherry Henderson said her office received the document. Tindall’s arraignment order still had not been received in the office as of then, but Henderson said she pleaded not guilty during the June court term before Circuit Judge Joseph Loper Jr., who set her bond at $50,000.
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Civil Lawsuit
The aforementioned lawsuit was filed in January 2021 in Webster County Circuit Court and is still pending. Tindall and the Webster County School District are named as defendants. The child’s parents, who allege negligence in the hiring and supervision of Tindall on the part of the school district, are seeking unspecified damages.
Last February, the WCSD filed its answer and two separate motions to dismiss itself and Tindall in her official capacity. Tindall filed her answer as an individual in March.
The plaintiffs then filed an amended complaint in May adding two more claims of negligence and the WCSD filed a brief in opposition to their motion to amend and/or clarify pleadings. Tindall’s attorney filed a motion to stay the civil action pending outcome of the criminal proceedings the same day she was indicted. The plaintiffs and school district later filed responses opposing that motion.
