Former Hendersonville Substitute Indicted on Sex and Drug Charges

A 24-year-old former substitute teacher in Hendersonville is facing a slate of sex and drug charges after a Sumner County grand jury indictment led to her booking in the county jail earlier this month. Court records show she is charged with sexual contact by an authority figure, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child, and several marijuana-related offenses. Her bond was set at $50,000, with an arraignment scheduled for May 22 in Sumner County Circuit Court.

Charges, booking, and court timeline

According to the Hendersonville Standard, court filings identify the defendant as 24-year-old Tariyah Allexziah Pierce of Hendersonville. She was taken into custody and booked into the Sumner County Jail on May 14 following the grand jury indictment.

The indictment lists two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child, one count of simple possession of marijuana, and two counts alleging casual exchange of marijuana between an adult and a minor, along with a charge of sexual contact with a minor by an authority figure. Her bond was set at $50,000, and records show she was scheduled to appear for arraignment on May 22 in circuit court.

How Tennessee law treats authority-figure charges

The authority-figure offense is defined in Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13-527, which covers unlawful sexual contact with a person between 13 and 17 when the accused allegedly uses a position of trust, supervision, or disciplinary power to accomplish the contact. The statute is typically prosecuted as a felony, with penalties that vary depending on the exact charge and the court’s sentencing range.

Allegations in the filings

Court documents reviewed by the Hendersonville Standard allege Pierce kissed a 16-year-old female student, engaged in sexualized conversations with her, and smoked marijuana with the teen on two occasions in August 2024. The filings also state that Pierce has denied having sexual intercourse with the student.

Local context and recent cases

The case lands in the middle of a tense stretch for Sumner County, where child-exploitation and school-related sex investigations have been stacking up in recent months. As reported by NewsChannel 5, six people were arrested in roughly a 10-week period on charges tied to sexual exploitation of minors.

In a separate case earlier this spring, a former elementary school custodian received a decades-long sentence in a prosecution involving a student, according to Sumner County Source. Responding to the wave of child sex cases, Sheriff Eric Craddock told NewsChannel 5, “If you target the most vulnerable in our community, you can expect the full weight of this office to respond.”

Pierce is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. The case will proceed through Sumner County Circuit Court, where future filings and any statements from prosecutors will determine the next steps.