By Kathryn F. Pickard
Contributing Writer

The charges brought against a Coffeeville High School teacher have shocked the communities in this area.

Since the news broke of Sharon Linton Rutherford's arrest, many have been talking about the charges and speculating on what happened.

Other teachers who worked with Rutherford and fellow church members at Thomasville Baptist Church where the family attended services expressed surprise at the allegations.

Many said they had known Rutherford for several years.

While speculation swirled around the coffee shops and lunch tables of Thomasville, the story spread to the national news media. The Associated Press picked up the story, and newspapers from Florida to Seattle, Wash. ran the story.

Late night comedian Jay Leno used the story for jokes during his nationally televised show. A film crew from Florida and a New York producer flew to the area to record a segment for Geraldo Rivera's television show, seeking interviews with the family.

Allegations in 2005

A year ago the Clarke County Board of Education received an anonymous note that a teacher at Coffeeville High School was sexually involved with a student. At that time the student was interviewed, but there seemed to be no evidence to support the accusation. School board members received a copy of the note and the incident was not brought up again until two weeks ago.

Apparently, CHS Principal Janice Richardson talked with a student who told her of the alleged affair between himself and Sharon Linton Rutherford, 30, a ninth-grade English teacher, at the school.

"The principal notified us and I went to the school, along with a representative from the Alabama Education Association, to talk with the student. He told me everything I needed to know, plus some," Superintendent Gerald Stephens said.

The Department of Human resources and Clarke County Sheriff's Department were contacted. Deputy Ron Baggett, who is a forensic interviewer with the Clarke County Child Advocacy Center, interviewed the students and Rutherford.

"Based on the interviews with the students and the teacher, we have enough facts to charge her," Baggett said.

Evidence indicates that Rutherford may have had sexual contact with at least four students, the youngest of which was 14-years-old.

One of the students told Baggett she had convinced him to kill her husband, James Rutherford, who is a coach in McIntosh. Apparently the student backed out of killing the man because he grew to like him. He also told officials that he had stopped the affair with Mrs. Rutherford because he had a girlfriend now and she didn't like it and a relative who had learned of the affair told him to stop.

Rutherford is charged with solicitation to murder, rape, first degree, two counts of enticing a child to enter a room or vehicle for immoral purposes and sexual abuse, second degree.

According to those Baggett interviewed, the incidents took place at the school and various "parking places."

Rutherford has been teaching at the school six years.

"Her evaluations were good and we never had any complaints about her teaching," Stephens said. "Right now this is a personnel issue for us. She is on administrative leave for legal reasons.

"This is an issue we needed to look at. We think about it happening somewhere else, and we've read and heard a lot about it happening somewhere else, but we know now it could happen anywhere. Ninety-nine percent of our teachers are hard working, good teachers. This puts a blight on them, and it's not right," Stephens added.

He said that at this point he thinks the students involved will be okay, but he is concerned about the Rutherford family. The couple has a 10-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter. The story has gotten the attention of national news media as well as the local media..

"Her family is the one suffering through this," he said.