Kindergarten teacher accused of grooming, sexually abusing teen for years, lawsuit says

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A family is suing a school district after a teacher was arrested on charges of criminal sexual misconduct with a minor last year.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the victim, claims Anderson School District 5 was negligent, should have known about the teacher’s inappropriate actions and failed to protect the victim.

According to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, Nicole Ballew Callaham began grooming the now-18-year-old when he was 14 while she worked as a kindergarten teacher. The alleged misconduct lasted at least two years.

Callaham allegedly signed the student out of school, transported him to practices and served as a supervisor for after-school activities.

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The alleged victim in this case, Grant Strickland, spoke in court at Callaham’s bond hearing. Gray Media does not identify victims of sexual abuse unless they choose to come forward.

Strickland said he wants to speak out to help others.

“All I really want the public to know is that that was a traumatic event. I’m here to fight and I’m not going to back down,” Strickland said. “I think more awareness needs to be brought to things like this. And just because I’m a man doesn’t mean that it should be shunned away. Because I was a child.”

Strickland decided to come forward as an 18-year-old after time spent processing the trauma he said he experienced.

“I would love to bring more awareness to show that this happens, and it happens a lot, and it’s not just to women, it’s to men, too, and it happens to young children, and it’s gotta stop,” Strickland said.

He added, “I would never want somebody to go through what I went through, because I don’t really think that most people would be showing up to survive it. I almost didn’t.”

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