Mountain Top Media
Former safety officer sues Floyd board, alleging he was fired for acting on sex abuse complaints
PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — The former chief safety officer for Floyd County Schools has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, saying the board violated whistleblower protections by punishing him for reporting a child exploitation case, then kept him in the dark about another case.
Thomas Gearheart filed his complaint Thursday in Floyd Circuit Court against the Floyd County Board of Education, Supt. Tonya Horne-Williams and all five members of the school board.
Gearheart alleges that on March 24, 2025, he became aware of allegations that a minor student had exposed herself by telephone to an adult male while on a school bus.
Gearheart says in his complaint that he reported the incident to Kentucky State Police, as required by his job duties and state law.
However, shortly after he made the report, he claims Supt. Horne-Williams voiced disapproval of his actions, saying he should have allowed the board to conduct an internal investigation before bringing in police.
A short time later, he said his office was moved from the board office to another location in the district.
Then, on March 26 of this year, Gearheart says the board learned of an incident involving allegations that a school bus driver had sexually assaulted a female student. However, he says he was not informed of the incident by the board, even though such matters would normally fall under his job duties.
Instead, he claims the board began conducting its own investigation without contacting police. Ultimately, Prestonsburg Police learned of the allegations independently of the board and began their own investigation.
Gearheart says he learned that the bus driver allegedly deleted evidence from his phone, which he says might not have happened had he been allowed to do his job.
Gearheart complained about his exclusion from the investigation to the board’s Human Resources Department, saying he had concerns about “student safety, potential criminal conduct, preservation of evidence and compliance with legal obligations.”
Gearheart was also subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury about the bus driver on May 13.
On May 14, he was informed that his position was being eliminated and he would no longer be employed by the board.
Gearheart claims his job duties are now being performed by other board employees and that the elimination of his position was a pretext for retaliation against him for his actions in the two cases.
Gearheart is suing on grounds of violations of Kentucky’s Whistleblower Act, wrongful termination, retaliation for reporting child abuse, retaliation for cooperating with police and the grand jury, and disability discrimination.
The complaint does not identify the bus driver who was accused of inappropriate actions with a student. However, the timing and the Prestonsburg Police and grand jury investigations all line up with the case announced this week involving former bus driver Andrew Lewis, who was arrested on a charge of attempted online enticement.
A lawsuit represents only one side of a dispute. Mountain Top News has reached out to the Floyd County Board of Education for comment. We were told through a spokesperson that Supt. Horne-Williams has been in meetings in Louisville all week and is not aware of the lawsuit, so there would be no comment at this time.
Mountain Top News has offered the board a chance to respond once they have had a chance to review the complaint.
A copy of Gearheart’s complaint follows
The post Former safety officer sues Floyd board, alleging he was fired for acting on sex abuse complaints appeared first on Mountain Top Media.
Trial dates set in Floyd child exploitation cases
LONDON, Ky. — Trial dates have been set for three Floyd County men who were arrested this week on child exploitation charges.
Former school bus driver Andrew Lewis, 40, of Prestonsburg, is charged with online enticement. He is accused of attempting to persuade a student to engage in sexual activity back in March. The charge carries a potential sentence of anywhere between 10 years and life in prison.
During his initial appearance in London federal court on Wednesday, a trial date was set for Sept. 29. He will also be back in court Monday for a detention hearing to determine if he qualifies for pretrial release.
Bryan Cantrell, 31, of Minnie, is charged with two counts of producing a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexual explicit conduct and one count of transporting a minor with the intent to produce sexually explicit conduct for distribution. Each of the charges against Cantrell is punishable by 15-to-30 years in prison, if he is convicted.
During his initial appearance in court on Wednesday, the judge set a trial date of Oct. 5. He will also return to court for a detention hearing, but not date has yet been set.
Simon Roxas, 23, of Prestonsburg, is charged with possessing child porn of a victim younger than 12. He came under investigation after a friend discovered child porn on his phone. A forensic examination of the device later turned up nearly 200 images of suspected child porn.The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
During his court appearance, the judge set a trial date of Oct. 6 and a detention hearing for Aug. 12.
All three men remain in jail while they await the outcome of their detention hearings.
The post Trial dates set in Floyd child exploitation cases appeared first on Mountain Top Media.
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