Dotson
A former Clark-Pleasant schools employee accused of showing pornography and giving alcohol to a teenager will serve only two days in jail.
Enos L. Dotson, 53, of Trafalgar, pleaded guilty to providing alcohol to a minor, a misdemeanor, before Johnson County Superior Court 2 Judge Peter Nugent on Thursday. He was sentenced the same day to 180 days, of which 178 days were suspended to active probation. He will ultimately serve two days in jail.
Dotson had also originally been charged with dissemination of matter harmful to minors, a Level 6 felony, along with the misdemeanor charge of giving a minor alcohol. This charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement, according to online court records.
The teen immediately returned home and left the country after reporting the incident. They would’ve been required to travel back to the U.S. to testify during a trial but this was not feasible for them, said Carrie Miles, chief of the Sex/Domestic Violence Crimes Division at the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office.
Despite this, and as part of his probation conditions, Dotson was barred from having anyone unrelated to him who is under the age of 18 at his residence. He is also required to pay $150 in restitution for the victim, Miles said.
The Trafalgar Police Department opened the investigation on Sept. 15, 2021, after receiving a report of child abuse from a high school counselor, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Johnson Superior Court 2 on June 3. The teen told the counselor they felt they were being manipulated into sexual behavior by Dotson.
The teen reported they were shown a naked video of Dotson and was asked to play a sexually suggestive game while drinking alcohol, according to court documents.
Shortly after the investigation began, Child Protective Services removed the teen from Dotson’s home and they were placed with a new family, court documents say.
Dotson was a Pleasant Crossing Elementary instructional assistant, who also worked for Honey Grove, the district’s after-school care program. The school corporation was not made aware of Dotson’s arrest until reading the article about it in the Daily Journal on June 16, 2022, despite the investigation being opened months earlier, Clark-Pleasant Superintendent Patrick Spray said last summer.
Once Clark-Pleasant was made aware of the arrest and charges, Dotson was immediately placed on unpaid administrative leave, pending further investigation and possible dismissal, Spray said. Dotson was suspended on June 16, and was fired from the district on June 21, according to the district.
As with all school employees, Dotson underwent a criminal background check before his hiring, which “did not produce any red flags,” Spray said. The school was not aware of Dotson having illegal contact with any Clark-Pleasant students.
At the time, Trafalgar Police Chief Charles Roberts said the department did not inform Clark-Pleasant when the investigation started because there was not enough evidence to accuse Dotson of a crime. It took months to gather the facts needed to build a case and file charges against him, Roberts said.
