A former middle school teacher who worked in two East Tennessee school districts has been indicted on a charge of exploiting a minor by electronic means, months after resigning from his teaching post amid a sheriff's investigation. A Claiborne County grand jury handed up the indictment against 25-year-old Ryan Lawson on October 28, accusing him of a crime that allegedly took place in Claiborne County sometime between December 2025 and February 2026.
According to WATE, Lawson was indicted on one count of exploitation of a minor by electronic means. The station reports that Lawson had taught in both Claiborne County Schools and Hamblen County Schools at different points in his career, with his most recent classroom post at Lincoln Heights Middle School in Morristown.
Per court documents cited by WBIR, Lawson taught at Lincoln Heights Middle School and was suspended pending an investigation, according to his personnel file. Hamblen County Schools says it employed Lawson as a teacher at that school from July 29, 2024, to February 13, 2026, per a statement from the district.
How the Investigation Surfaced in Hamblen County
Hamblen County Schools says it received a call from another school district informing officials that Lawson was involved in an ongoing investigation, according to the district. Superintendent Arnold Bunch said he was informed of a Claiborne County Sheriff's Department investigation into Lawson on February 13, 2026, per his statement, and he suspended Lawson that same day pending the investigation's outcome. Lawson resigned from his Hamblen County teaching position effective that date, according to the statement.
Bunch said Lawson had been hired through the district's normal HR process, including a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation background check that returned no indicators, according to WATE's report on his statement. Separately, Claiborne County Schools told the station that Lawson's teaching contract there was not renewed after the 2023-24 school year.
A Statewide Surge in Reported Cases
Tennessee has seen a dramatic spike in reports of online child sexual exploitation in recent years. The advocacy group Street Hope TN told WSMV that reports went from about 30 a month to more than 22,000 in less than a year statewide, a trend the organization says is tied to predators exploiting platforms including Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and online gaming services.
Street Hope TN prevention education director Lisa Ivy described one common scheme, sextortion, as a scam in which someone threatens to leak a sexual image of a child unless they pay. Ivy said teenage boys are increasingly targeted in these scams, according to the same report. The group's figures and warnings describe a broader pattern across Tennessee and are not tied to any specific case, including Lawson's.
The Lawson case remains in the court system, and the indictment represents an allegation rather than a conviction. No additional details about the specific conduct alleged, the identity of the minor involved, or any response from Lawson or an attorney representing him have been made public in reporting on the case so far.
