Warrant: Scott teacher began sexual relationship in 2009 when girl was 16

A Scott County middle school teacher facing dozens of child pornography charges was charged with 36 additional felony counts Thursday for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl.

Jason Alan Carpenter, 38, of Georgetown was charged with 36 counts of first-degree sexual abuse Thursday, according to Georgetown police.

Carpenter was arrested Wednesday on 46 counts of possessing and promoting child pornography. According to court documents, he admitted to investigators that he accepted explicit photos from a minor.

Lt. Robert Swanigan, spokesman for the Georgetown police department, did not provide details about the new charges but referred to a section of state law that involves sex abuse of a minor by someone in "a position of authority or position of special trust."

"Every individual act is a separate act, a separate charge," he said. "It's all related to one victim."

According to an arrest warrant filed in Scott District Court on Thursday, the girl was 16 when he began a sexual relationship with her in 2009.

The age of consent in Kentucky is 16, according to Kentucky Revised Statutes. However, the age of consent is 18 if a person is in a position of authority, such as a teacher or an adult coach, over the minor.

The document says Carpenter had sex with the girl six times from Oct. 3, 2009, to Feb. 26, 2010. Thirty more sexual encounters occurred from August 2010 to February, according to the warrant. The warrant does not say how Carpenter met the teen.

He was suspended by Scott County schools Aug. 3, two weeks before his arrest, superintendent Patricia Putty said Thursday.

Putty said Carpenter, who has taught at the middle school for 16 years, was suspended with pay pending an internal investigation that stems from allegations made against him in August. She did not elaborate.

She said Carpenter had coached Scott County High School's girls golf team since 1999, but he resigned from that position in July.

The district's investigation is continuing, Putty said, adding that she could not discuss the matter further because it was a personnel issue.

Two arrest warrants, filed Wednesday in Scott District Court, provide more details about the original charges filed against Carpenter.

He was booked into the Scott County Detention Center Wednesday on the child-porn charges, including 23 counts of promoting a sexual performance by a minor and 23 counts of possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor.

One of the warrants on the child-pornography charges says he received "multiple sexually explicit images electronically" of a girl who was younger than 18 from Nov. 24 to 26. The document says Carpenter knew the girl was a minor.

When forensic investigators searched his computer, 18 sexually explicit images were found, the warrant says.

The warrant says Carpenter had asked the girl to send him the images.

A second arrest warrant, charging Carpenter with 10 counts of possessing child pornography and promoting a sexual performance by a minor, says Carpenter received "multiple sexually explicit videos" of a minor girl who was younger than 18. The warrant says Carpenter told investigators he was "unable to view" the videos. Police searched his computer and found five sexually explicit videos of a minor, according to the warrant.

The warrant says Carpenter asked the girl to send him the videos from Dec. 30 to Jan. 1.

It is illegal in Kentucky to possess explicit images of someone younger than 18 in any circumstances, even if the person is older than the age of consent.

Swanigan said he could not discuss the charges in more detail because the investigation has not ended.

On his arrest citation, Carpenter listed CE Graphics LLC, an imaging company on North Broadway in Georgetown, as his employer.

No one answered the door at Carpenter's home on Sable Drive, off Long Lick Road in rural Georgetown. The home is listed for sale.

Carpenter was being held at the Scott County regional jail on $60,000 full-cash bond.

This story was originally published August 19, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Warrant: Scott teacher began sexual relationship in 2009 when girl was 16."