A former middle school gym teacher who once called himself a “pig” before being sentenced for repeatedly raping a 15 year old teenage girl was killed by another inmate in his North Carolina prison cell on Sunday.
Ernest Nichols, 60, was convicted in 2011 of statutory rape and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He had initially faced 27 charges, including numerous sex-related offenses, according to WRAL.
Nichols was discovered unresponsive in his cell at Greene Correctional Institution in Maury, North Carolina, around 6:50 a.m., prompting an immediate facility lockdown.
By Tuesday, authorities charged fellow inmate Wilbert Baldwin, who is already serving time for second-degree murder, with Nichols’ killing, according to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.
Before his arrest, Nichols had spent 14 years teaching at Ranson Middle School in Charlotte. He was quickly suspended without pay and permanently barred from school property after the allegations came to light, WBTV reported.
His 15-year-old victim, who was not a student at the school, said he raped her multiple times over a six-month period in 2008 after impersonating his own son on Facebook and MySpace.
She said Nichols would send her sexually explicit messages and make bizarre requests like making up sexual stories or letting him know “whenever she entered the shower,” according to an arrest warrant obtained by the outlet.
The disgraced ex-teacher would sometimes watch the teenager have consensual sex with another male and ordered her to tell people “she wanted” to have sex with him if anyone asked about their encounters, which all took place at his family’s home, the warrant stated.
Before his arrest, the victim’s mother confronted Nichols about the months of sexual abuse, during which he reportedly admitted to being a “pig,” according to court documents.
Police arrested him in October 2009 at his Charlotte home, where they discovered videotapes, a video camera, photographs, and various sex toys throughout the property.
During his court appearances, Nichols repeatedly refused to cooperate with the judge, claiming he was not a “straw man” and that he didn’t understand the charges against him. At one point, a bailiff had to physically restrain him in the courtroom, according to reports.
Nichols had been serving a 15-year sentence and was scheduled for release in September 2027.
Leave a Reply