By By Adam Prestridge
A kindergarten teacher at Rachel Patterson Elementary School has been placed on administrative leave after an Escambia County Grand Jury indicted she and her husband on numerous child abuse charges last week.
The Grand Jury returned indictment writs on the Atmore couple Friday with both being charged with felony and misdemeanor crimes, according to Escambia County Chief Deputy Mike Lambert.
Terry Desmond Linam, 44, and his wife, Tracy Linam, 37, of 6045 Chapman Road in Atmore were both charged with three counts of aggravated child abuse, which is a Class B felony, and three counts of domestic violence, third degree, which is a Class A misdemeanor, according to Joy Patterson, press office spokesperson for the Alabama Attorney General’s office.
Escambia County School Board Superintendent Billy Hines was unable to speak freely regarding the case, but did confirm that Tracy Linam had been placed on paid administrative leave.
The couple was booked into the Escambia County Detention Center on a combined bond of $165,000 each. After booking, the couple was able to secure their release through a property bond, Lambert said.
In their release orders, the couple was instructed to have no contact with the children involved in the case or the mother of the children in question. According to Lambert, the allegedly abused children were Terry Linam’s from a previous marriage, and that the alleged abuse was physical, not sexual.
According to Lambert, if convicted, each felony count holds a sentence of one to 20 years in prison, and each misdemeanor count holds a sentence of one year in jail.
No employment information was given for Terry Desmond Linam.
(Brewton Standard news editor Lisa Tindell contributed to this report.)