A former Mercer County
Jonathan Kirk, a former teacher and coach at Pikeview High School
Judge Sadler rejected the plea and
set the case for an April 15 trial. The judge said the plea bargain with
prosecutors did not take into account Kirk’s role as a teacher, a position of
trust. Most of the crimes allegedly took place on school grounds with teenage
girls.
Kirk faced up to 20 years in prison
in the plea bargain but now the case goes back to the original 18 felony
charges. If convicted, Kirk could be sentenced to up to 100 years in prison.
The original charges include using
minors in filming sexually explicit conduct; showing them obscene materials;
sexual abuse; and soliciting a minor by computer.
Kirk remains in the Southern
Regional Jail on $100,000 bail.
