Turner offered plea bargain:Potter won’t divulge specifics

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Pam Turner scurries to the jail for her booking in February.

A plea bargain is on the table for former Centertown teacher Pamela Rogers Turner, who must now choose between accepting the state’s terms or going ahead with trial by jury this November.

In the meantime, her plea or assignment date, formerly scheduled for this morning, has been moved to July 27 by agreement between the state and defense. It is on or before that day the 27-year-old will either have to enter some type of agreement or be docketed to go ahead with her Nov. 15 trial.

Turner is charged with 28 felony counts including statutory rape (one to two years in prison) and sexual battery by an authority figure (three to six years in prison) for allegedly having a sexual affair with one of her 13-year-old male physical education students.

She has resigned her position as teacher and coach at the elementary school. She has been warned to have no contact with the alleged victim or face revocation of her $50,000 bond.

The alleged victim returned to Centertown School late in the year after receiving homebound education for several months. He was recently denied admission to private Boyd Christian School due to concerns over the publicity which will accompany the case.

While attorneys could not comment on the specifics of plea negotiations, District Attorney General Dale Potter said the delay of the plea or assignment date came to give the defense time to digest the plea offer prosecutors have put on the table.

Potter would not divulge if the offer includes jail time, and if so, how much. Potter noted the offer was only recently presented to defense and therefore the Turner camp would need time to mull over the conditions.

In addition to delaying the plea or assignment date, indications of the seriousness of settlement talks also include the fact very little paperwork has been filed. However, should negotiations break down, it is anticipated a flood of pre-trial motions would be made prior to the pre-designated September motion-hearing date.

Recent paperwork revealed prosecutors have little in the way of physical evidence other than cell phone records of the teacher and pupil. Instead, prosecutors say the case will deal heavily on statements of witnesses.

FYI

Pam Turner was scheduled to be in court today for her plea or assignment date.

By delaying the date, she must reach a plea bargain agreement by July 27 or face trial in November.