EHS teacher charged with sex with student released on bond Tuesday

An Enterprise High School teacher facing four counts of “school employee engaging in sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student” was released on bond Tuesday morning, Feb. 9, that had been set at $25,000 on each charge at a hearing before District Judge Chris Kaminski Monday morning.

Horace Ashley Graham, 37, of Andalusia, who had been in Coffee County Jail since his arrest Feb. 5, had his initial court appearance via Skype, Feb. 8.

According to 12th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Tom Anderson, a charge of “school employee engaging in sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student,” is a Class B felony and carries a possible penalty of two to 20 years upon conviction.

Possible bond amount on the charges ranged from $5,000 to $30,000.

Twelfth Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Josh Wilson asked the court to impose bond on the high end of the range citing the fact that Graham was a teacher and the alleged victim was a high school student.

Graham’s attorneys Sonny Reagan and Paul Young asked the court to impose bond on the low end of the range, citing the fact that Graham’s only previous contact with the law was a speeding ticket.

When Wilson told the court that the state was continuing their investigation into the possibility of other alleged victims of Graham, Young strenuously objected. Wilson’s comments were an effort to “poison the community” against Graham, Young said, citing the presence of media representatives in the courtroom.

Kaminski told Graham that a condition of any bond that he set would be that Graham have absolutely no contact in any form with the alleged victim. “I caution you that I take this condition very, very seriously,” Kaminski said.

Reagan told the court that Graham has been placed on administrative leave from his position by the Enterprise City Schools. That combined with the fact that his home is in Andalusia, would preclude him from contact with the alleged victim.

Reagan also reminded the court that Graham had turned himself in for arrest after being informed that warrants were pending.

Graham’s arrest stemmed from allegations that the EPD received Jan. 21 of sexual contact between a teacher and a student from EHS, Enterprise Police Chief T.D. Jones said following Graham turning himself in to law enforcement officials Feb. 5.

“The investigation was started immediately and investigators worked non-stop to obtain supplementary evidence in this case,” Jones said, adding that EPD investigators received assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in Dothan.

Jones said the evidence revealed that Graham engaged in four separate, inappropriate and unlawful, sexual acts with the same student between November 2015 and January 2016.

“At this point in the investigation, it is believed that none of the sexual acts occurred while on school grounds,” Jones said. “The investigation will continue to search for additional evidence and to determine if additional charges are warranted.”

Graham turned himself in to the EPD at 1:20 p.m. Feb. 5 and was transported to the Coffee County Jail where he was held on no bond, pending an initial court appearance.

The EPD continues to investigate the case and asks that anyone with information regarding this crime to contact the EPD at (334) 347-2222 or to leave a tip at www.enterprisepd.com.

“I want to thank our school administrators, EPD, the FBI, and all other agencies involved for their assistance in this investigation,” Enterprise City Schools Superintendent Dr. Camille Wright said. "I will be recommending to the board Mr.

Graham’s official removal from the Enterprise City School System.”