Chad Brooks, a former West High School teacher and coach, has been indicted on several statutory rape charges, as confirmed by the Knoxville Police Department. Arrested by the Morristown Police Department at around 7 p.m. last Saturday, Brooks now faces multiple counts of aggravated statutory rape and statutory rape by an authority figure. This was reported by WBIR, which also noted Brooks's subsequent release on a GPS monitor from the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility.
Furthermore, according to documents acquired by WVLT News, during the ongoing investigation, Brooks allegedly had an employee remove a school-issued device from his classroom — an action that contradicts explicit instructions given to him. It was revealed that this attempt to access the device occurred after he was placed on leave and was not to be present on any Knox County Schools properties or communicate with staff or students.
Knox County Schools has decided to not renew Brooks' contract for the 2025-26 school year, as he was already placed on paid administrative leave in April and then on unpaid leave in May. Details from a personnel file have shown that his employment history with Knox County Schools began in August 2017 as a Special Education Assistant and included a resignation in May 2019, followed by a rehire in September of the same year as an assistant football coach, explained by WATE.
In a letter from KCS superintendent Dr. Jon Rysewyk, included in the personnel file and obtained by WVLT News, refers to the act of contacting a school employee to remove items from his classroom as "insubordination" and notes missed communication as well as a failure to attend a required meeting. These complications have contributed to his nonrenewal decision. Rysewyk's letter asserted, "You contacted a school employee and asked that they remove items from your classroom, one of which included your school issued device that you were told to leave in the classroom."
The Knoxville Police Department's Special Crimes Unit is leading the charge in the investigation into Brooks's alleged inappropriate relationships with both past and current students. Meanwhile, the Knoxville Family Justice Center along with the KPD's Special Crimes Unit remains poised to help those impacted. The KPD urges anyone with relevant information or suspicions of child abuse to report it immediately, as stated by WBIR.
