Charge Against Ex-Kell Principal Dropped

Cobb's assistant solicitor general has dropped a charge against Trudie Donovan, the former Kell High School principal who abruptly announced her retirement last June amidst allegations that she "knowingly and willfully" failed to report incidents of battery and sexual battery against two students as mandated by Georgia law.

"After an extensive investigation, the State is unable to pursue this charge due to lack of facts or supporting evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant violated the 'willfully and knowingly' portion of O.C.G.A § 19-7-5 (h)," Cobb Assistant Solicitor General Latonia Hines wrote in the March 27 Nolle Prosequi order signed by Cobb State Court Judge Kathryn J. Tanksley.

That order vindicates Donovan in an investigation that began when a Kell student was reportedly the victim of battery and sexual battery incidents at the Northeast Cobb school on May 17, 2012. The student reported the incidents the following day to school officials. The Cobb Police Crimes Against Children Unit began investigating on May 22, Sgt. Dana Pierce, the spokesman for the county police department, told Northeast Cobb Patch last June.

Two days later, on May 24, Pierce said another student went to school officials with a battery complaint, which was forwarded to police for investigation the same day.

Social studies teacher James Chadwick Brigham was charged June 21 with two counts of misdemeanor battery and a single count of felony sexual battery. Donovan was charged with failure to report child abuse, a misdemeanor offense.

Donovan stepped down after 34 years as a teacher or administrator in the Cobb County School District, including a long tenure at Walton High School.

Related content

• Kell Principal Announces Retirement
• Kell Principal to be Discussed
• Kell Principal Reports to Cobb Jail
• Kell Teacher Released on $25K Bond
• Docs: Kell Teacher Had History of Misconduct
• Sprayberry Principal Moves to Kell