SMYRNA, Tenn. (Scripps News Nashville) — A former Tennessee fifth-grade teacher was indicted by a grand jury last week for 19 sex crime charges, including exploitation of a minor, solicitation of a minor and sexual battery by an authority figure.
Taylor Cruze (Rutherford County Court)
Taylor Cruze, a first-year teacher for the 2020-2021 school year at John Coleman Elementary School in Smyrna, Tennessee, was accused of posting videos of students to TikTok.
She was suspended without pay on May 2, 2022 as the result of a law enforcement investigation. Cruze submitted her resignation to Rutherford County Schools 20 days later, and she is no longer an employee of RCS.
Her bond was set at $100,000.
Cruze faces five counts of Exploitation of a Minor by Electronic Means of Juvenile under 13, five counts of Exploitation of a Minor by Electronic Means, five counts of Especially Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, three counts of Solicitation of a Minor – Rape of a Child and one count of Sexual Battery by an Authority Figure.
Her plea hearing is September 28.
This story was originally published Sept. 10, 2022 by WTVF in Nashville, an E.W. Scripps Company.
