Jonesborough Middle School Teacher Kent Holcombe Guilty of Child Pornography Offense

GREENEVILLE, TN—Anthony Kent Holcombe, 43, of Jonesborough, Tennessee, pled guilty on August 10, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville, Tennessee, to the receipt of child pornography shipped in interstate commerce. Sentencing has been set for 1:30 p.m. on December 7, 2009, in United States District Court in Greeneville.

Holcombe faces a term of imprisonment of a minimum of five years and a maximum of twenty years; a maximum fine of $250,000; a $100 special assessment; and a maximum term of life on supervised release.

According to the written plea agreement signed by Holcombe and the United States, Holcombe was an educator formerly employed by the Washington County, Tennessee Schools District as a middle school reading teacher and track and field coach at the Jonesborough Middle School. He installed a file-sharing software program on his computer and received more than 12,000 still images and 25 video files of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct via the Internet. The images depicted young female children aged 10-13, which corresponded to the ages of his students.

On April 14, 2009, a three-count indictment, which included the aforementioned charges, was returned against Holcombe by a federal grand jury sitting in Greeneville. Holcombe resigned his teaching position in March 2009, and has remained in federal custody since April 29, 2009. This indictment was the result of an ongoing investigation by the Washington County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Helen Smith represented the government.