Image Credit: Blount County Sheriff’s Office & Canva
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
A former Blount County teacher who pleaded guilty to five charges of “offensive touching” was sentenced to six months of probation on Wednesday, along with the possibility of having his record wiped clean.
In addition to his sentence of six months of supervised probation, Dalton will have to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and follow through with any recommendations made based on those results.
Additionally, the judge in the case granted Dalton a judicial diversion. After he completes all of his required probation, Dalton could have the case expunged from public record.
An investigation was opened on Joseph Dalton, a former PE teacher in the Blount County School District, in September 2023 after it was alleged that he had allegedly touched several elementary school students inappropriately in at least five separate incidents.
According to arrest records, five different occasions were caught on camera in which Dalton was inappropriate towards children. These ranged from tickling to close hugging to pulling one student “intimately close to his person” and putting his face on hers.
Investigators said it appeared that Dalton tried to kiss the student on the forehead before she “violently threw his hand off of her shoulder quickly.” The final incident that was recorded involved Dalton pulling a girl close to his body and “bouncing and shaking his body” against her.
Although his personnel file noted a number of Dalton being inappropriate towards children, he was not terminated from the district. Instead, he was reassigned to several different elementary schools.
The first allegation came in August 2005 when Dalton worked at Porter Elementary. He was investigated after he allegedly forcibly fondled a child.
Dalton resigned after the 2023 investigation began, and he pleaded guilty to charges in January 2024.
Additional Sources:
https://tennesseeconservativenews.com/tag/joseph-dalton
https://www.wvlt.tv/2025/04/30/former-blount-county-gym-teacher-sentenced-student-assault-cases
