Ex-teacher receives reduced sentence in child sex case

On Tuesday morning, former Patton High School Exceptional Children teacher Christopher Bailey entered the Burke County Courthouse in a black and white striped jumpsuit, the chains on his handcuffs jingling quietly as he took a seat next to his attorney.

In the back of the mostly empty courtroom, the sniffles of his family were the only other noise as he pleaded guilty to nine counts of sex acts by a substitute parent and one count of incest.

“I’m sorry,” Bailey said, his face growing red from sobbing. “I knew better — I should have done better. I had an opportunity to do great things and didn’t choose them.”

According to defense attorney Frank Webster, Bailey fostered the victim before eventually adopting them in April this year. Superior Court Judge Daniel Kuehnert said the crimes occurred nine times between February and July.

The judge said that due to Bailey’s contrition and lack of a prior record, he accepted a sentencing recommendation from the district attorney’s office, shortening Bailey’s sentence dramatically compared to the punishment commonly seen in sex offense cases.

“It’s pretty unusual,” Kuehnert said, “Being your age, not even having a traffic ticket.”

The judge gave Bailey two consecutive, active sentences of 20 to 48 months each for the first two counts of sex acts by a substitute parent.

Assistant District Attorney Mitch Walker said, for this kind of offense, for someone without a criminal record, the law allows the sentencing judge flexibility in their decision.

“Under these circumstances, under the facts of this case, those were the most serious charges that he could be charged with,” Walker said. “That’s because of the age of the victim.”

Webster explained in his comments that the victim was 16 or 17 during the offenses.

Under North Carolina law, the age of consent is 16 years old as long as the offense isn’t forcible — which the court said it was not in this case.

Walker confirmed that due to the victim being over the age of consent, the charges traced back to Bailey’s role as a substitute parent.

In other words, if Bailey hadn’t fostered and adopted the victim, there wouldn’t be any criminal charges or court dates, and it would have simply been infidelity in a personal capacity.

Walker explained that the judge can give someone split sentencing for felonies of this nature, resulting in part active incarceration and part supervised probation.

“For those Class E offenses, and those prior records, there’s not really a quote-unquote normal sentence,” Walker said. “There’s so much wiggle room for judges in this specific scenario.”

As for the remaining eight charges, Bailey received up to 60 months of supervised probation, which begins when his first two sentences end. According to Kuehnert, that could be sooner than the 40-month minimum time period.

Kuehnert said he would allow for early release if Bailey completed certain programs in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections, including recommended sex offense treatment and related mental health therapy.

“Part of the reason for the judgment I’m going to give is because of your relationship with your family … Your remorse, [and] your acceptance of responsibility,” the judge said.

According to Kuehnert, if Bailey follows prison rules and finishes treatment, he could be looking at a total combined incarceration time of 30 months.

The judge also recommended that once Bailey completes his sentence in a correctional facility, he be placed on work release, citing his relationship with his wife and the support he continues to receive from his other children.

“I’m in a position as a wife and mother where I’ve been betrayed by both,” Regina Bailey, his wife, said. “It’s just a tragic story, really. He is a good man who made a terrible mistake.”

The defense relied heavily on the nature of Bailey’s remorse and his victim’s role in the offense.

“It needs to be known, in this, that he is not a predator,” defense attorney Frank Webster said. “She pursued him.”

The court did not reference this allegation in Bailey’s evaluation or sentencing. While the defendant must register as a sex offender after release, the court did not classify him as sexually violent or likely to reoffend.

There is a permanent no-contact order, meaning Bailey cannot contact the victim directly or indirectly, including via the internet, friends, or family.

Webster said that Bailey didn’t adopt with the intention to abuse the victim. After police initially questioned him and he denied accusations, Bailey claimed his conscience compelled him to confess to authorities.

“They could have been left with a damaged victim,” Webster said. “Nobody believed her … He wanted to clear the record — she did not lie.”

Kuehnert saw Bailey’s sentencing as an opportunity for other inmates to gain a positive role model, due to Bailey’s education and prior record — if the defendant chooses to be one.

“The state and the community really look down on this crime,” Kuehnert said. “But you can be a positive influence … Guys in prison are not going to listen to me, but they might listen to you.”

While the judge seemed to have high hopes for Bailey’s influence, the impact on his family was still evident.

“The hardest part was seeing everything people said online,” Bailey’s daughter, Cianna, said through tears. “I love my dad.”

The irony of their support wasn’t lost on either family member, though. Regina acknowledged the “uniqueness” of the situation, as the judge pointed out.

“If I had read it on the other side, I would have been down there with my torch,” she said, referring to the public outrage that usually follows sex crime convictions. “There’s always more to the story.”